IT'S SAFE: Hospice wins vital lifeline

By JO-MARIE BROWN
Waipuna Hospice today put its troubled financial past behind it by clinching an important contract that will ensure it's never again in danger of closing.
In what is believed to be a national first, the new agreement with the Bay of Plenty District Health Board will see the hospice take full control of all community-based palliative care services in the Western Bay.
Previously the hospice had shared that role with Tauranga Hospital and district nurses.
The decision means the health board will increase the hospice's funding by $200,000 a year to reach $1.3 million.
Waipuna's chief executive Jill Elmes said the decision meant up to 60 per cent of the hospice's operating costs would now be fully covered, up from about 50 per cent.
The health board has also promised to automatically review the hospice's funding should patient numbers increase or decrease by 10 per cent in future.
"I think that's really important because that means we won't face another crisis," Mrs Elmes said.
Last year, a funding shortfall placed Waipuna's in-patient unit and the jobs of 15 staff members in jeopardy.
The community rallied around the hospice - which provides medical and support services for people with terminal illnesses - and the health board also provided a top-up payment to see it through.
In August this year the Waipuna Hospice Foundation was launched to help co-ordinate fundraising activities and promote the hospice as a worthy recipient of bequests, donations, legacies and grants.
Mrs Elmes stressed that donations from the community would still be vital to keep the hospice up and running but the new two-year contract provided more financial security than ever before.
"It's important for the community to know that the hospice is going to be here for the long term," she said.
"The community is very supportive of us and have, quite rightfully, got a great interest in ensuring we remain viable, responsive and able to meet the needs of the public."
Now that it has taken over the home-help and personal care services previously provided by district nurses, the hospice has boosted its patient numbers to 350 - up from 303 last year.
Mrs Elmes said she was pleased the health board had recognised the importance of palliative care and the fact that it would be needed more as the Western Bay's population aged.
Today's agreement would also help keep valuable staff members on board.
"We want to retain staff and it's hard to do that if there's any sense of uncertainty about the future," she said.
"There's certainly going to be challenges in the future for us but that's no different from any other area of health care."
Health board chief executive Ron Dunham said the new contract was a vote of confidence in the hospice's ability to provide expert palliative care.
By giving Waipuna control of all community-based care, the health board was ensuring resources were not being wasted as the hospital would no longer double up and provide exactly the same services.
"It also gives us confidence that patients can all receive care by not falling through the gaps between what the hospital offered and what the hospice does. And we can be sure that the money spent is being put to the best use."
Health board project manager John McRae, who helped piece together the new contract with Waipuna following a lengthy review, described the agreement as innovative. ``I don't think there's one like it anywhere else in the country. ``Everywhere else still shares [palliative care services] between several providers,'' he said.