New hospice in Waterloo gets $2.5-million toward building
Ten-bed hospice will have room to extend programs, education and a palliative clinic
A new hospice coming to Waterloo just got a large donation to help with building the space.
Bill and Gret Gies donated $2.5 million toward the construction of the new facility, which will now be named The Gies Family Centre.
The 25,000-square-foot hospice will have ten beds along with more room to extend programs, education and a palliative clinic.
"Our existing building is about 5,000 square feet, so it's going to be a whole lot bigger than what we are," Judy Nairn, executive director for Hospice of Waterloo Region told CBC News.
Part of the building will house Hospice of Waterloo Region's Kitchener operations as well.
"This gift is what we call a cornerstone gift, which sets our campaign standard that says the community is behind this and the community is going to come together and make sure that this happens," said Nairn.
The Hospice of Waterloo Region's fundraising campaign also got $2-million in funding from the Ontario Ministry of Health.
Nairn said the ministry funding will go toward the construction costs of the residential portion of the new building.
The new hospice building will be built on University Avenue in Waterloo. C
Construction will begin this summer and the centre is schedule to open by late 2019.