East Kootenay Foundation for Health (EKFH) announced today it is partnering with the Cranbrook Kimberley Hospice Society (CKHS) to build a standalone Hospice Home in Cranbrook and this year’s Starlite campaign is dedicated to that task.

This year’s annual Starlite campaign carries a deeply urgent and personal mission, said EKFH Executive Director Brenna Hong.

“A hospice home is not a hospital. It is a place where life’s final chapter is written with love, dignity, and peace. A place where families are welcomed into a warm, homelike setting for patients to spend their last days surrounded by comfort and care,” Hong noted.

“Hospice homes have private rooms where loved ones can gather, space to share meals and memories, and calm, supportive atmospheres where no one has feels rushed, crowded, or forgotten. Hospice care goes beyond medicine. It supports the heart and spirit, making sure that both patients and families feel cared for, respected, and embraced.”

Hong said she and her family know the pain of not having access to such a facility.

“I know firsthand why this matters. When my father passed away in 2024, it was in the hospital and it was not the ideal situation. There was no hospice care and there was no space for him. My dad never even had the chance to spend his last days in a palliative care room. At first, he was moved rooms three times within a week. After, he shared a room with a gentleman with severe dementia. Imagine the poor gentleman’s confusion as our large family tried to gather around my father in those final moments,” she recounted.

“In the end, my dad died in a small, makeshift space that felt more like a closet than a place for a family to say goodbye. We huddled together, crowded and heartbroken. It was far from the compassion and respect that every person deserves at the end of life. And it was painful, not just because we were losing him, but because of how we lost him.

“But the truth is, the system has no space for end-of-life care in the East Kootenay. I have spoken to many families who have endured the same journey as my family did. No family should ever have to experience this, and with your help, they won’t,” she said.

A hospice home will mean that in the East Kootenay, families will have somewhere else to go, Hong said.

“Somewhere designed for these moments. A place where the noise of hospital hallways is replaced with quiet, and where families are not asked to step out because of limited space. Meals are shared, stories are told, laughter and tears fill the room. An environment that is gentle, peaceful, and full of dignity for saying goodbyes when the final moment comes. Hospice care makes this possible.

“That is why this year’s Starlite Campaign is so important.”

Together, EKFH and the Cranbrook and Kimberley Hospice Society are committed to making this vision a reality. But they cannot do it without help from the community-at-large.

“Your gift is not just a donation, it is a promise. A promise that no one else will have to say goodbye to someone they love in a cramped space, in less than compassionate circumstances. A promise that families will have the time, the space, and the peace they deserve when it matters most,” Hong said.

Learn more…

Please, give what you can today.

e-KNOW file photo

e-KNOW

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