Edmonton’s first standalone community hospice celebrates grand opening Wednesday

EDMONTON -

The Roozen Family Hospice Centre, located at 98 Avenue and 148 Street in west Edmonton, is a residential community facility providing end-of-life care for individuals who cannot be cared for at home and do not need acute medical care.

“Finally Edmontonians are going to have this wonderful opportunity to have a place where their loved ones can die with dignity and all of the programs that wrap around to support the entire family,” said community member Beth Allard Clough.

Clough says the Roozen Family Hospice Centre was made possible through community collaboration.

“It was community people that really believed, and were really passionate about end-of-life care.”

Monica Robson, executive director of the Pilgrims Hospice Society, a not-for-profit giving hospice support to Edmontonians, says the Roozen Family Hospice Centre will now fill a much-needed vacancy in the city.

“For many years there was a gap in end-of-life care and the Roozen Family Hospice Centre now fills that need,” said Robson in a release Wednesday.

The 30,000-square foot, 12-suite residence is already at running at over 90 per cent capacity on a regular basis, with August occupancy at 98 per cent according to Wednesday’s release.

Along with offering palliative care to residents, the center also works to support family members like Luanne Currie, whose father was the first resident accepted at the Roozen Family Hospice.

“It’s hard to describe just how powerful this has been for us as a family,” said Currie.

She says after touring the space in February, she was hopeful it could provide support for her father who was nearing the end of his life.

“I was vibrating with hope and I thought, ‘This is really too good to be true,”” said Currie.

Robson says she often hears from individuals that they feel able to return to their roles as family members once their loved one is under the care of Roozen Family Hospice staff.

Even after their loved one has died, family members are able to access grief support programming at the centre.

“They care for you right until the very moment that you leave the facility as a family. To me, this is what palliative care should look like,” said Currie.

The Roozen Family Hospice Centre is funded by community donors and so far has supported 62 residents since it opened its doors in February of 2021.