Huron Hospice has an additional two beds ready to provide palliative care for over a year, but thanks to a lack of provincial funding, those spaces sit empty.
Now, it’s asking for local governments to advocate for its cause at the upcoming Association of Municipalities of Ontario (AMO) conference in August.
Executive Director Willy Van Klooster has been making the delegation rounds in the past few weeks, presenting at each local council and explaining the dire situation.
He said despite using the "regular channels," they have yet to receive operational funding from the Ministry of Health.
"We frankly don't know what's happened, except that we've had six years and now we've been open for a year-and-a-half with six beds, and they said it's against the law for you to open those beds unless you have Ministry money attached to those beds," he told Ashfield-Colborne-Wawanosh council on Tuesday. "So we've had that period of time now with them being closed, and that has meant a real ethical dilemma for us, because we've now had 71 people we've had to turn away, and of course financially, it's really difficult."
Van Klooster said the hospice was unsuccessful in its application for funding when the province announced 84 new hospice beds in the 2024 budget. He said he found out later after the fact that they and a hospice in Windsor were the only ones not to get operational funding for their "orphan beds" — beds that are ready to go but are unfunded.
He said the province has failed to adhere to its own policies, approving required steps in the capital approval process without first approving operating funds.
"In our view, the Ministry has not followed their own policy," he said. "It became clear to us in 2020 they said to us, 'We are not allowed to give you money to expand the capital portion until we first give you money to operate.' So we believe they've been in violation of their own policy.
Van Klooster said they've been fortunately able to surivive financially thanks to estate gifts, but will need the Ministry to fund the additional beds before the next round of hospice bed funding opens, which could be anywhere from three to eight years.
The presentation struck a chord with members of Huron County council, who brought it up Wednesday when discussing lobbying strategies at the upcoming AMO Conference.
The Town of Goderich and Central Huron said they have already sought a delegation with MOH officials at the conference.
"We'd be willing to have as many parties that want to join the delegation," said Goderich Mayor Trevor Bazinet. "We have not been approved for the delegation but we have sent it in. We're hopeful to be approved and move this forward because it is an important topic."
Huron East, Bluewater, and ACW all offered their support for the delegation as well, with Past Warden Glen McNeil suggesting County officials also get involved.
