{"id":4036,"date":"2023-05-23T21:22:57","date_gmt":"2023-05-23T11:22:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/?p=4036"},"modified":"2023-05-23T21:22:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-23T11:22:59","slug":"home-instead-donates-10000-to-support-palliative-care-on-the-central-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/onthecoastpublications.com.au\/onthecoastover55\/home-instead-donates-10000-to-support-palliative-care-on-the-central-coast\/","title":{"rendered":"Home Instead donates $10,000 to support palliative care on the Central Coast"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

A $10,000 donation from in-home care provider Home Instead will help to create a sanctuary of serenity for terminally ill patients at Wyong Hospital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This July, work is scheduled to begin on a new 12-bed palliative care unit, which will be called Elsie\u2019s Project and be modelled on a similar facility that opened at Gosford Hospital in 2020.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Catering for ages 18-plus, and incorporating family accommodation, it will increase the number of palliative care beds on the Central Coast to 24.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Its features will include a beautiful courtyard garden, complete with a water feature that will be funded by the donation. This will feature a brass plaque dedicated to Home Instead\u2019s clients. <\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

To mark the start of Palliative Care Week, Home Instead Central Coast & Newcastle representatives handed over the $10,000 yesterday (Monday, May 22) to the Elsie\u2019s Project organising committee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The moment was imbued with personal meaning for special guest Mary Ann Vale, whose father Peter \u2013 a long-time Home Instead client alongside wife Judith – directly sparked the generous donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cMy father battled cancer for about 10 years, and towards the end, he was in Gosford Hospital,\u201d Mary Ann explained.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was then transferred to Elsie\u2019s Project for the last few days of his life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen we had his funeral service, we asked those who attended to make a donation<\/a> to Elsie\u2019s Project, rather than giving flowers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA little while later I then received a phone call from our Home Instead Client Care Manager – who had attended the funeral with some of Dad\u2019s carers \u2013 letting us know they wanted to make the $10,000 donation in his memory, which I thought was really lovely<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt is very, very generous of them, and very kind.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Home Instead Central Coast & Newcastle business operations manager Amee Dawson highlighted the importance of the Wyong Elsie\u2019s Project as the missing piece of the puzzle for local palliative care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt Home Instead, we offer palliative care services in-home, with a focus on maintaining dignity and quality of life for people in their final days, whether it\u2019s helping an older gentleman with a daily shave or taking someone outside to enjoy a little sunshine,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHowever, it\u2019s not always possible for people to stay in their home, which is why it\u2019s so important for them to have somewhere like Elsie\u2019s Project – somewhere that echoes our focus on personalised care to give people dignity and quality of life as their time draws to a close.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That commitment to people and personality is something Mary Ann has firsthand experience of.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhen my dad was moved from the actual hospital into palliative care, it was Melbourne Cup day<\/a>,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAnd he enjoyed his red wine<\/a> and he always enjoyed the action of the race day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSo<\/a> we got permission from the doctors to give him a glass of red wine and watch the Cup, and he was actually carrying<\/a> that glass of red wine as they transferred him into palliative care.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe even won the little sweep we had between us, so he was very happy about that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Margaret Pearce, chair of the Elsie\u2019s Project organising committing, welcomed the Home Instead Central Coast & Newcastle donation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She noted the project had only been able to get off the ground with the integral support of backers like Member for Terrigal Adam Crouch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea for how to best use the $10,000 donation sprang from her vision of an accessible courtyard retreat steeped in beauty, peace<\/a> and serenity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI asked Home Instead if they wanted to cover the water feature for the garden and was delighted when they said yes,\u201d Margaret said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt will be a beautiful feature and will be something everyone will be able to see and enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s<\/a> something of which Mary Ann thinks her dad would have approved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cHe was very much a thinking sort of person. And I know he would have really enjoyed the idea of contemplation and the peacefulness of that environment,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more information on planning for end-of-life care at home, visit Home Instead\u2019s information portal at homeinstead.com.au\/resources\/dying-at-home\/<\/p>\n\n\n\n

ELSIE\u2019S PROJECT<\/p>\n\n\n\n