Campbell River home to host north Island families needing hospital care

CHEK

Campbell River is close to having a new resource for families on northern Vancouver Island needing hospital care.

On Wednesday, Veronica Carroll, the head of the Children’s Health Foundation of Vancouver Island saw the construction progress first hand for the first time.

“It’s absolutely thrilling to be here today,” said Carroll.

Called Qwalayu House, the 10 bedroom home is for families needing maternal or pediatric care at North Island Hospital Campbell River.

“We’ll be able to support 10 families, 24/7 and it’s just going to be wonderful,” said Carroll.

It’s modelled after Jeneece Place in Victoria.

Over the past nine years, Jeneece Place has provided a place to stay to more than 2,000 Vancouver Island families while their children received medical care.

“We know that if we provide a place for families to stay close to the hospital so they’re able to be close to their kids while their kids are getting the support that they need that alleviates a lot of stress in sometimes extremely stressful situations,” said Carroll.

The foundation identified the need nearly a decade ago but started working on the home in earnest two years ago.

“Our strategic objective was to expand more of our services to all of Vancouver Island rather than just be Victoria-based and so this is a major initiative to start doing that,” said Bryan Thomson, the foundation’s board chair.

Port McNeill’s mayor says the home will provide a much-needed resource.

“There are so many communities that have to travel such a long way… trying to find accommodations is just another layer of stress to the situation for them,” said Mayor Gaby Wickstrom.

Island Health provided the land and so far the foundations has raised half of the $7 million needed to cover the cost of construction and operations.

The foundation is now looking for some more generous donors to help pay for this asset that’s becoming a reality for families on northern Vancouver Island.

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Kendall HansonKendall Hanson

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