Centurion hospice opens in-patient unit for the terminally ill
“We want to urge residents to kindly donate curtains and linen that they don’t use anymore. That is something that every household have and replace from time to time. Please donate what you don’t use to the hospice.”
Centurion Hospice opened an in-patient unit recently, consisting of 14 beds, six rooms and two wards.
Dorothy Wye, the fundraiser for the hospice, said the facility was not only used for cancer patients, but any patient with a life-threatening disease can be admitted, except those that have Covid-19.
“Any patient who is terminally ill and needs care 24/7 can be admitted here. Patients who have a medical aid can claim their expenses back from their medical aid,” she said.
“If patients don’t have medical aid, we rely on the family’s contribution and other donations we receive from the community. We don’t want to turn anyone away.”
Wye said the hospice, a non-profit organisation (NPO), incurred a lot of costs to be able to run the unit and they relied heavily on donations from the public.
“Up until now the community and businesses in our area have been very supportive and we are grateful to them. We receive donations such as furniture, books and clothes that we sell in our shop to raise the necessary funds to operate the hospice.
“We receive household items such as paintings or pictures, glass- and kitchenware, and electrical and electronic devices that people upgrade from time to time.”
She said the shop was busy every day.
“People enjoy browsing and buying books and all kinds of household items at reasonable prices. The shop has many regular customers along with many new faces we see from time to time.
“We want to urge residents to kindly donate curtains and linen they don’t use anymore. That is something that every household have and replace from time to time. Please donate what you don’t use to the hospice.”
Wye said the hospice used its space to offer services that suit the patient and the family, and also to raise money in doing so.
“There is a privately-owned coffee shop on the premises. Plus we cater for funerals and events on the premises to raise awareness and to raise funds.
“We have a funeral service available that takes care of everything from when a patient passes away until the deceased is buried. The funeral service can be conducted on our premises. In such cases, we have catering services available apart from that of the restaurant. We endeavour to assist the family of the deceased with everything they need right here on our premises.”
Wye said the hospice still needed funds to make a few changes in the shop.
“The air conditioners need to be serviced, and we would appreciate if businesses could support the hospice in that respect.”
Wye said the hospice would meet with some members of the SA Council of Business Women as well as the Nomad Ladies in the following two weeks and plan some business networking as well.
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