About $29,000 a week is how much Waipuna Hospice has to raise on top of its government funding to keep its head above water.
It costs $1.5 million a year to run Waipuna Hospice, and funding development co-ordinator Trish Rae said community support was critical. "We're hugely reliant on our community - we're always going to be reliant on our community. It's certainly never ever going to be fully funded."
Mrs Rae said the hospice was grateful for all the help it received from the Western Bay.
"I think hospices generally are supported well. (The Bay) still has a strong community focus that you don't get in the likes of Auckland. The level of support we get is excellent. Sometimes the big cities, they don't enjoy that community sort of feel - there's still a very strong sense of community here."
While some people were keen to volunteer to help at the hospice, but were put off by the idea of working directly with patients, Mrs Rae said there were other roles they could fill. "There are many roles that don't involve direct patient contact, if people don't feel comfortable with that."
Bequests were also an important part of the hospice funding picture, she said. "Leaving a bequest is something people can do to ensure their support continues beyond their lifetime."
Hospice representatives were available to meet anyone who wanted to discuss the possibility of leaving a bequest.
Waipuna Hospice chief executive Richard Thurlow said the hospice had to prepare for the Western Bay's projected population growth. The hospice had room for 12 inpatient beds and was currently using nine.
It was expected that over the coming years the hospice would increase the number of beds being used, at the rate of one every 18 months.
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Help from community critical at Waipuna
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