{"id":830013,"date":"2026-07-27T21:34:10","date_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:34:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/830013\/"},"modified":"2026-07-27T21:34:10","modified_gmt":"2026-07-27T21:34:10","slug":"we-are-in-a-major-crisis-says-palliative-care-doctor-pushing-for-hospice-facility-in-st-johns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/830013\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018We are in a major crisis,\u2019 says palliative care doctor pushing for hospice facility in St. John’s"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Text<\/p>\n

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Estimated 3 minutes<\/p>\n

The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.<\/p>\n

A doctor of palliative medicine says St. John’s is in crucial need of an independent hospice facility.<\/p>\n

Dr. Susan MacDonald, who is the former head of Newfoundland and Labrador’s medical association, said while there are 10 palliative care beds at the Miller Centre in St. John’s, the building is well past its prime. The building was originally built in 1851 and has operated as a hospital since the 1880s.<\/p>\n

“The staff is second-to-none, but it’s still an old hospital building. And you just can’t get around that, and we only have 10 beds,” MacDonald told CBC Radio\u2019s The St. John\u2019s Morning Show.<\/p>\n

“What we need is a place that is close to home, that looks like a home, that feels like a home, that patients can come in and stay for maybe a few weeks, maybe even a couple of months if they cannot manage at home any longer.”<\/p>\n

MacDonald has worked in palliative care for more than three decades, and is hoping to lead the charge for an independent, non-profit facility in the city.<\/p>\n

Hospices provide care for people at the end of life, including both advanced and gentle care in a home-like setting. MacDonald said many of her patients want to die at home, but it can be a serious undertaking.<\/p>\n

WATCH | She\u2019s an expert in dying. Now she\u2019s trying to start a hospice:\"\"<\/p>\n

A hospice centre is desperately needed in St. John\u2019s. This expert wants to start one<\/p>\n

Dr. Susan MacDonald has spent a lifetime learning about how, and where, people die. She says the St. John\u2019s area is missing something big: a dedicated hospice for people to live out their final days. Now, she\u2019s trying to start one.<\/p>\n

The problem is amplified, she added, by a health-care system already stretched with a shortage of both home care workers and palliative care beds.<\/p>\n

In September 2025, Statistics Canada reported that over one in four people living in Newfoundland and Labrador were aged 65 or older.<\/a><\/p>\n

“We are in a major crisis, and have been for a long time,” MacDonald said.<\/p>\n

“By creating somewhere that palliative patients can come in\u2026 all those things would add toward helping that health-care crisis.”<\/p>\n

MacDonald said details of what the facility could look like are still up in the air. She hopes to lead a committee toward the idea becoming a reality, which includes finding a co-chair with a background in securing funding and project development.<\/p>\n

CBC News has asked both the Department of Health and Community Services and Newfoundland and Labrador Health Services for comment.<\/p>\n

In 2023 the 10-bed\u00a0Lionel Kelland Hospice<\/a> \u2014 the first such facility in N.L. to operate outside the provincial health authority \u2014 opened in Grand Falls-Windsor. It\u00a0was years in the making, with the planning, fundraising and advocacy work beginning in 2014.<\/p>\n

Download our\u00a0free CBC News app<\/a>\u00a0to sign up for push alerts for CBC Newfoundland and Labrador. Sign up for our\u00a0daily headlines newsletter here<\/a>. Click\u00a0here to visit our landing page<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Listen to this article Estimated 3 minutes The audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology.…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":830014,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[49,48,84,392],"class_list":["post-830013","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-healthcare","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-health","tag-healthcare"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830013","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=830013"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/830013\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/830014"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=830013"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=830013"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=830013"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}