My Account
By Nicolette Bodewes
Chair, North Shore Hospice Trust
I feel privileged to write this message of appreciation to all the amazing people and organisations who have provided support for the new local hospice home, Tui House, and to the Warkworth Wellsford Hospice team.
This project has been years in the making. Warkworth Wellsford Hospice is currently located in two former dairy houses. The buildings have served the hospice and community well, but with growth in the service and population, it has long been recognised that a shift to a purpose-built facility was needed.
Tui House has been planned over many years. A site was purchased on Glenmore Drive in 2012 and three years ago fundraising for the building began in earnest with a $5 million target. We thought this was an aspirational goal for a relatively small community, but a very enthusiastic and hardworking volunteer Fundraising Team set to work, determined to reach this objective. And they have done just that with local people, trusts and foundations committing to donations of money, product, skills and services, grants and pledges worth $5,026,000. The majority of the total raised came from 156 donations. We are so very grateful.
The current trend is for health services to move ‘closer to home’, with fewer people being admitted to hospital for care. Tui House will allow hospice to offer wraparound support, giving families confidence to care for their loved ones at home and deal with challenges as the person’s illness progresses.
The local hospice team, under the guidance of Kathryn Ashworth, has worked very closely with Chow:Hill Architects and a volunteer group of project planning experts (the New Build Committee) to develop a unique design, which blends easily with the rural landscape and provides a sense of openness and welcome. We are grateful to this small team for their vision and commitment.
Tui House is designed to become a hub where patients and families can come for a wide range of care and support services and meet others in similar circumstances. The community wing has been planned in a way so other groups can also enjoy the benefits of this beautiful space.
On behalf of the North Shore Hospice Trust and the Warkworth Wellsford Hospice Advisory Committee, I look forward to the official opening of Tui House and to inviting donors, volunteers and the general public to view this landmark building over coming weeks.
Video launch
The opening of the new building coincides with the release of a video, This Cause is Dying, featuring Rachel Hunter. The video aims to encourage people to help keep the service alive in the face of increasing costs and a growing need. To view the video visit: youtube.com/watch?v=FCEmKoNih7w
