Heather Wright/The Independent

St. Joseph’s Hospice will be opening three hospice beds at Lambton Meadowview Villa on the outskirts of Petrolia.

The province announced funding for the beds in January. Hospice Executive Director, Kelly Chartrand, said the provincial election call in late January the project was “delayed a little bit for receiving the funding formula.”

Chartrand says they considered a number of spaces but then looked at the former doctors’ offices at on the west side of Lambton Meadowview. The space was originally built to provide respite services for families. The unit closed in 1998.

The area is used as office space now, however all of the fixtures built for respite care including wide accessible doorways and accessible washrooms are intact. Chartrand says the area will require minimal renovation.

One spot which will be converted is an open office area which will become a great room for families. A window will be turned into a patio door leading out to the grassy area surrounding Meadowview. Chartrand says that will allow some people to be outside as they spend their final hours with families. “We offer what we call cuddle beds. It’s the only bed in health care that is designated for two individuals,” says Chartrand.

For families to be close, for grandparents to be nice and close to their grand kids, they can get into bed with them. We also have some residents that chose to die outside. So, this will give the opportunity to honour their wishes and to be able to go outside and be with them outside with their bed.”

Chartrand expects the ‘minimal’ renovations to be complete by the fall of 2026, saying each stage of development has to be approved by the Ministry of Health, taking added time.

The Lambton Meadowview staff working in the area will be moved to new office space leased at the Reece’s Corners plaza owned by the Town of Plympton-Wyoming.

Chartrand says the province will provide up to $750,000 to renovate the space. And it will provide $516,000 in yearly operating funding. The Hospice’s foundation will have to raise $170,000 per year to support the care at the home.

Chartrand says the rural hospice will have two staff at all times and six new positions will be created.

The hospice beds at Meadowview are part of an $20 million investment to create 84 new hospice beds across the province, said Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey.

Lambton County Warden Kevin Marriott is the mayor of Enniskillen Township where the beds are located.

“Access to quality end of life care should never depend on where you live,” he said as hospice officials unveiled the new site Friday. “The new rural location will ensure that families throughout the county can receive compassionate, dignified care closer to home, surrounded by the people and places they love.”