A proud tradition of caring (October, 2007)
"Spirit of the Community" is an apt award for the hospice, which has been caring for terminally ill patients and their families for 16 years now, and in return has received fabulous support from its community.
I have been associated with Arohanui Hospice since before its opening in 1991, and I had the privilege of working with its founder, the late Garth Wallace. Garth had a vision to create a hospice that embraced all the needs of the dying, relieving pain and suffering, offering comfort and "dispelling the clouds of fear" for those awaiting death. He was the driving force behind establishing Arohanui Hospice in 1991 as a peaceful and homely place focused on providing for the total needs of terminally ill people and their families.
We have come a long way since then, but the essence of Garth's vision – to provide compassionate and skilled care to terminally ill patients and support for their families – has never changed. The Board of Trustees, management, staff and volunteers have continued the vision to provide comfort, consolation and care to the dying.
Over the years the hospice has developed into a fully-fledged specialist palliative care service. Under the guidance of our clinical leaders Barry Keane and Dr Simon Allan it has gained the reputation as one of the leading hospices in New Zealand and an innovative centre of excellence in palliative care. In the last 10 years we have grown from caring for 300 patients a year to over 550, and our patient numbers continue to grow by 7 percent each year.
There has been a wonderful continuity of community support for Arohanui Hospice. From our 330 volunteers – one of which is Garth's widow Jean Wallace, who works in reception each Saturday – to the many individuals, companies and community groups who support us financially. Just one such example is the Milson Rotary Club, of which Garth was president, which continues to raise money for the hospice each year.
I also applaud the commitment of the volunteer team who continue to be a part of the hospice, from the Trustee volunteers (led by Roger Clausen), to the wonderful people who are directly involved in services we provide and those who work in our shop or organise fundraising events.
For the coming year we will need to raise $1.1 from the community to continue to provide services free to patients and families. This is a huge ask in a highly competitive charitable market, but we are determined to raise this amount. The costs of providing palliative care are rising, in particular our nursing wage bill. It is fitting that our nurses' skills and experience be recognised with equivalent salaries to their hospital colleagues, but this has added greatly to our costs.
Finally, I pay tribute to Garry Klee, who recently retired as a Trustee and who served 12 years as Chairman. Garry was determined to continue the vision Garth Wallace had for Arohanui Hospice, and I believe he achieved this. We are grateful for his leadership and commitment over the past 16 years.
Adrian Broad
Picture: Arohanui Hospice Chief Executive Adrian Broad accepts the Spirit of the Community Award at the Manawatu Business Awards. (Photograph courtesy of the Manawatu Standard.)
