St. Joseph's Hospice will officially be expanding into the rural part of the county with the creation of three new beds at Lambton Meadowview Villa in Petrolia.
The announcement was made during a media conference Friday at the nursing home.
This means residents won't have to travel into Sarnia to receive compassionate end of life care in a home like environment.
The space, which will open in the fall of 2026 after some minor renovations, is currently home to the Long-Term Care Administrative Office.
Those employees will be moving to an existing location in Reese's Corners.
Hospice Executive Director Kelly Chartrand said there's certainly a need for this type of care in a rural setting. It will be staffed with nurses and Personal Support Workers.
"It was the perfect space for us," said Chartrand. "It has accessible washrooms, large private suites, an area for families to gather in the great room and a kitchenette that looks onto a beautiful space to have a healing garden."
Chartrand said upgrades to the space will include renovations to the spa room, as well as flooring, and lighting improvements.
The province allows for up to $250,000 per year for capital renovations, per bed. For the new facility, that means the maximum will be $750,000.
"For the most part we're self contained," she said. "Lambton Meadowview Villa has been very good to work with. Because we only have three beds, there are very little services that we need in terms of housekeeping and food. Those are some of the things they're supporting us with."
Chartrand said the province will be chipping in operating costs of $172,000 per year per bed. She said that leaves it up to the hospice to fundraise $170,000 per year of its own to maintain the facility.
"We want to make sure the environment feels like they're going into their own home," said Chartrand. "It takes away that clinical feeling. We always have nice quilted bed spreads on the beds and we always have soup for the families to enjoy. It's just to make it more home like for them."
Lambton County Warden Kevin Marriott expressed his excitement for the project.
"This is the centre of the county so it makes sense that this would be the first place to have the three beds," said Marriott. "My brother just passed away at the Sarnia hospice so having something here is amazing. I can't express enough how exciting it is."
Petrolia Mayor Brad Loosley said the town is thrilled.
"It's great, I'm tickled," said Loosley. "I've been involved and I've seen the one operate in Sarnia. I think it's something that's really needed in Petrolia and the surrounding area. I'm very pleased to see this is moving forward."
Sarnia-Lambton MPP Bob Bailey passed along his congratulations.
"On behalf of the province, I'm just pleased that this facility is moving ahead in Petrolia," said Bailey. "Petrolia is my home and it's so pleasant to see that this facility will be located here. I know it will be put to great use. It's also a great opportunity for Meadowview to highlight the services that they do already." It was announced back in January that the hospice would be expending its services, but it wasn't clear where the new beds would be located.
Since opening in December 2009, 2,450 residents have been cared for by hospice staff. They have provided caregiver, wellness, and bereavement support to over 4,800 people.
