Getting into the Chatham-Kent Hospice won't be as simple as walking through the front door.
With the first patient being accepted into the hospice the week of April 11, all future admissions will be decided on by hospice staff and the Erie St. Clair Community Care Access Centre. For those in need of palliative care, Director of Development Jodi Maroney says that process begins by registering with the CCAC.
"As their illness progresses and hospice becomes an option for them, their care coordinator will make a referral to the hospice, and arrange for admissions from there," says Maroney.
She adds there are plenty of factors the two groups will consider when selecting patients for the ten-bed facility.
"If they're already in a bed or hospital, they wouldn't be as high a priority as someone who is in the community without a support network," says Maroney. "Obviously the progression of their illness will be taken into consideration as well."
The Chatham-Kent Hospice will have its open house Tuesday. For more on registering with the Erie St. Clair CCAC, click here.