Construction is now underway on site at a new hospice building in Port Perry.

Officials—including members of the board of directors of Oak Ridges Hospice, capital campaign chair Anne Wright, Port Perry Mayor Bobbie Drew, and MPP Lindsey Park—gathered at Oak Ridges Hospice to break ground on the eight-bed facility that will be known as the Morgan and Sidhu House.

J.J. McGuire General Contractors is the Oshawa-based general contractor that will lead the construction team. The crew was given the green light to start construction and pour building foundations after receiving approval from the Ministry of Health and the foundation permit from Scugog Township earlier in December.

“The Board of Directors is excited to see construction begin on the site of Oak Ridges Hospice,” said board chair Dr. Steven Russell. “This is the culmination of years of hard work, and the direct result of the generosity of our donors and community supporters.”

Funding for construction of the new facility has come from various sources. The “Building for Compassionate Care” Capital Campaign for Oak Ridges Hospice has taken on the goal of securing $6.6 million in funding for the facility. A large portion of that total has already been raised, and a significant portion contributed by major donors Kevin Morgan and Dave Sidhu—after whom the facility has named.

For its part, the provincial government has invested $1.6 million in the project. The province plans to invest more than $35 million to build 201 planned residential hospice beds across the province.

"Our government is committed to ensuring patients receive the care, dignity and respect they expect and deserve," said Health Minister Christine Elliott. "Oak Ridges Hospice will provide people in the Durham Region with palliative care in a comfortable home-like space, where they can be close to loved ones. At the same time, by investing in increased capacity we will help end hallway health care in Durham."

Once the Oak Ridges facility is open, the province will provide the hospice with $840,000 annually to support end-of-life care for about 123 patients per year.