Valley Hospice to begin reopening in March following flood

Rooms will begin reopening next month at Valley Hospice in Kentville, N.S., following a recent flood at the site.

Health Minister Leo Glavine said Thursday that remediation work at the hospice is ongoing and five of the 10 rooms were not damaged.

Five rooms will reopen in March, with the other five slated to be available again in early April.

In the meantime, Glavine said hospice staff have moved to the neighbouring Valley Regional Hospital to assist patients receiving palliative care.

At the time of the flood in December, Nova Scotia Health said six patients at the hospice were taken safely to the hospital where they would receive care until the hospice reopens.

Opened in September

COVID-19 visitor restrictions in the hospice are the same as in hospital. Those in palliative care and others near end of life are permitted two support people per day, so families will see little difference in how they can visit their loved ones. 

The hospice opened in September, long after the idea to bring hospice care to the area was first proposed in 1993. The Valley Hospice Foundation incorporated as a registered charity in 2000 and ground was broken in 2018.

Valley Hospice has 10 private bedrooms for people in need of end-of-life care, but are unable to stay at home or in hospital.

The hospice is the second in the province. The first opened in Halifax in 2019.

A health authority official has said talks with the insurer related to the flood at Valley Hospice are ongoing.