WELCOME to your new Community Palliative Care Hub. This impressive $5.5M building was recently completed and will provide the community with state-of-the-art spaces and facilities to provide support to patients and their families with life limiting illnesses and specialised end-of-life care.
“The new building will accommodate our specialist teams of palliative care nurses, health professionals, social workers, counsellors, trained volunteers and spaces for training, family consultation, carer and bereavement supports, as well as administration and admission,” said GV Hospice Care president, Jeanette Powell.
Designed over more than 18-months to be a fit-for-purpose centre, the Community Palliative Care Hub includes new clinics and consulting rooms for patients to meet with nurses, specialists, supportive care staff, telehealth, or to have a private moment with their family.
“We were on top of each other before, and now we have the spaces that we need to give people their privacy and dignity, and for our staff to be able to do their work in a space that is appropriate for them,” said GV Hospice Care volunteer coordinator, Maree Chin.
“Another palliative service we can provide is specialised training. We have a facilitator coming from Melbourne to train our patient care volunteers. They’re the people who sit with palliative patients, and provide the extra care as they go into people’s homes.
“They always tell me that it is a privilege to be able to go into someone’s home at the end of life, and we make sure they have all the training and skills to feel comfortable doing that,” said Maree.
Improved training and consulting facilities are backed by specialised ‘pod’ workstations where staff can do their work. There is also new overnight accommodation with a secure, private entrance and garage, as well as bathroom and equipment amenities.
This is ideal for those nurses and staff who facilitate the after-hours services, often working at night to provide care around the district.
Another improvement is the purpose-made service area, that is kitted out with a lift so that equipment can be cleaned and moved safely upstairs for storage when it arrives at the Hub.
The Community Palliative Care Hub has future-proofed end-of-life care in our region, providing patients with well-designed spaces and staff, volunteers, and organisers much-needed amenities to continue their fantastic work.
“Everybody’s experience of a life limiting disease and end-of-life is different, and so this service is about supporting people for their choices and their place of death,” said interim executive manager, Kaye Gall.
“This new space provides an opportunity to create new services. We have this great new facility, and we are very busy in our volunteer space at the moment, and the provision of new opportunities for the future.”
As part of GV Hospice Care’s ongoing growth, the upper level of the Hub is available to lease, and specialist and community groups are being encouraged to put their mark on the service and shape this wonderful service that has touched the lives of many families in the community.
