Wheatland & Area Hospice Society Questions & Answers

A community guide to who we are, what we are building, and where things stand.

About Us

  • WAHS is a registered non-profit, volunteer-driven organization serving Strathmore, Wheatland County, and surrounding communities. We believe end-of-life care should be available close to home, in a setting that feels like home.

    Our vision: Recognizing death as a part of life, we aspire to be a dedicated, caring community providing access to compassionate, high-quality care at the end of life's journey.

    Our mission: To provide quality community hospice palliative care to patients and families through programs and support services, education, and facility development.

  • Hospice palliative care is a specialized model of care focused on comfort, dignity, and quality of life for people nearing the end of life and for the families who love them.
    It is distinct from acute hospital care (focused on curing illness) and from long-term care or seniors lodges (focused on daily living support). Hospice care involves advanced symptom management, hands-on personal care, emotional and spiritual support, and wrap-around services for the whole family, before, during, and after a loved one's death.

  • Even without a residential hospice building, WAHS is actively serving the community today. Through our Outreach Program and trained volunteers, we provide:

    • Companionship and emotional support for patients and families at home, in hospital, and in long-term care

    • Caregiver respite

    • Bereavement support

    • Community education on grief, advance care planning, and end-of-life conversations

      These services continue regardless of where the residential hospice conversation lands.

The Project

  • The Town of Strathmore has committed land at Kinsmen Park for a new building that would house two operations:

    • A modern affordable seniors lodge, operated by Wheatland Housing Management Body (WHMB), replacing the aging Wheatland Lodge originally built in the 1960s.

    • A residential hospice, operated by WAHS, providing palliative end-of-life care in a homelike, purpose-built setting.

    Each would have its own entrance, its own identity, and its own operations. They are designed to be neighbours under one roof, not a single combined facility.

  • Three reasons, in order of importance:
    It is the model the province has actively encouraged. Alberta Health and Alberta Health Services have indicated that standalone rural hospices are unlikely to be viable for provincial operational funding. Co-located projects (pairing hospice beds with a lodge, continuing care, or long-term care) are the path the province has promoted for years. Communities like Olds, Oyen, Spirit River, and Manning have followed similar models.
    Shared infrastructure lowers costs. A shared building splits capital and operating costs for the building envelope, mechanical systems, kitchen, laundry, parking, and grounds. Every dollar saved goes further for patients and residents.
    It improves the odds of getting built. Joint projects are stronger grant applicants because they tell a fuller community-need story: affordable seniors housing and end-of-life care together.

  • No. The two operations are designed to be physically and operationally separate, with their own entrances and their own atmosphere. Residents of the lodge will not pass through the hospice, and hospice families will not share lobbies, lounges, or dining areas with the lodge. Two distinct homes that share a foundation.

    Note: WAHS hospice care is for patients of all ages, not only seniors.

The Partnership with Wheatland Housing Management Body

  • Wheatland Housing Management Body (WHMB) is a separate, independent organization, established in 1963, that provides affordable housing and supportive living to seniors in our region. They operate the existing Wheatland Lodge and other seniors' housing in the area. WAHS and WHMB are two independent organizations with separate boards, staff, finances, and operations. We collaborate on the Kinsmen Park building because it makes sense for both organizations and the community.

  • No. Two boards. Two operating budgets. Two sets of policies, staff, and donors. One building. If and when the project moves to operations, WHMB will run the lodge and WAHS will run the hospice, each fully accountable to its own donors, members, and the people it serves.

  • It gives our community something it cannot otherwise easily get: a modern, locally accessible hospice combined with much-needed updated seniors housing, both built more affordably than either could be alone. There is also a quieter benefit. A lodge resident who later needs end-of-life care can transition just down the hall, surrounded by familiar staff, scenery, and community. That continuity matters.

Other Partnership Options

  • Yes. We are open to, and actively in conversation about, alternative partnerships in the Strathmore area. Our goal has never been a particular building; our goal is high-quality, accessible hospice palliative care for our community.
    Any partnership we enter must meet WAHS's standards for the model and level of care our community deserves. Hospice palliative care is a distinct discipline, and not every facility is structured to deliver it the way patients and families need. If a partnership can meet that bar, we will pursue it seriously. If it cannot, we will keep looking.

  • We are also exploring conversations with other Calgary Zone partners about shared responsibilities, shared facilities, and shared expertise. Rural communities benefit when hospices collaborate rather than duplicate.

Funding & Government

  • Not yet. Operational funding (the ongoing dollars to staff and run a hospice once it is built) is provided by the Government of Alberta through the relevant health ministry. WAHS does not currently have a commitment for this funding.
    This is not unusual at our stage. Most hospice societies negotiate operational funding closer to opening, and the funding landscape has been actively changing.

  • Alberta is in the middle of a major restructuring of how health care is governed and delivered. Alberta Health Services is being reorganized into four new health agencies, each focused on a different stream of care (acute care, continuing care, primary care, and mental health & addiction). Hospice care touches more than one of these streams. For us, this means:

    • Funding decisions, contracts, and operational partnerships are in flux.

    • Long-standing relationships need to be re-established with new agencies and new

      decision-makers.

    • The case for rural community hospices needs to be made again, clearly, to a new

      structure.
      We are using this period to advocate strongly for rural residential hospice funding and to make sure rural communities are not overlooked.

  • We have alternatives. WAHS's vision and mission can be advanced in more than one way:

    • Continue and expand our Outreach Program: volunteer and professional palliative

      support to patients in their homes, in hospital, and in long-term care.

    • Establish a Hospice Hub in Strathmore: a community-based home for hospice palliative

      care education, health-provider training, day-hospice programming, bereavement support, and family resources. A Hub does not require provincial operational funding to succeed.

    • Pursue alternative partnerships with health providers and facilities in the area.
      A residential hospice remains our long-term goal, but it is not the only way we serve our community, and it never has been.

    1. The Affordable Housing Partnership Program (AHPP) is a provincial grant under Stronger Foundations: Alberta's 10-year strategy to improve and expand affordable housing. It supports projects that increase housing supply for low-income Albertans through partnerships between municipalities, non-profits, and the private sector.

      WHMB has applied to AHPP for the affordable seniors lodge portion of the Kinsmen Park project. AHPP funds housing, not hospice. The hospice portion is funded separately through community donations and grants.
      If WHMB succeeds with AHPP, the lodge portion advances and the broader project (including the shared infrastructure that benefits the hospice) moves forward. If WHMB is not successful in a given intake, both organizations regroup and look at next steps.

    1. Donor trust is the most important thing we have, and we treat it that way.

      • WAHS's assets exceed $9.4 million, stewarded according to detailed policies covering

        transparency, accountability, and risk.

      • Funds are managed under a short- and long-term investment strategy designed to

        protect principal and grow value over time.

      • Donations are restricted to advancing hospice palliative care for our community. They

        are not at risk of being spent on something else.
        If the path forward changes, donor funds remain dedicated to fulfilling our mission. We will not rush a decision simply because time is passing.

Where Things Stand

    1. A few things at once:

      • Advocating to the new provincial health agencies for sustainable rural residential hospice

        funding.

      • Evaluating alternative partnerships and local opportunities, including with private

        operators in the Strathmore area.

      • Assessing the opportunities and risks created by Alberta's health system restructuring.

      • Awaiting the outcome of WHMB's AHPP funding application for the lodge portion of the

        Kinsmen Park project.

      • Continuing to serve patients and families today through our Outreach Program and

        volunteers.

  • The next major fork in the road depends on the outcome of WHMB's AHPP application and follow-on funding from municipal and federal partners. That process may take several months. In the meantime, we are not standing still. We are working all paths in parallel: government advocacy, alternative partnerships, the Hospice Hub concept, and ongoing patient and family support. Whichever doors open, we are ready to walk through them.

  • No. We have changed pace, not direction. Good decisions take time, especially when the funding landscape around us is shifting. We owe our donors and our community a project built on solid ground, not a rushed one built on hope alone.

How You Can Help

  • Across Canada, hospices have always been built by communities, for communities. We need three things from ours:
    Your voice. Watch for upcoming Community Presentations where we will listen, share, and learn what hospice care means to you and your family. Dates will be posted here and on Facebook.

    Your continued support. Donations of time, talent, and treasure keep our Outreach Program running today and our future facility on track.
    Your advocacy. Tell your MLA, your municipal councillors, and the new provincial health agencies that rural hospice care matters. Rural community hospices are a cost-efficient, high- quality model for palliative care, and patient and family satisfaction surveys repeatedly confirm that this is the kind of care people prefer.

    We are not asking the government for a hand-out. We are asking for a hand-up: recognition of the value of rural community hospices, and a fair seat at the table.

    • Volunteer: training is provided. Roles include client companionship, bereavement support, administrative help, fundraising, and community education.

    • Donate: visit our website or contact us directly.

    • Attend a Community Presentation: watch our website and Facebook page for dates.

    • Spread the word: share what you learn here with friends, family, and neighbours.

    1. Drop us a note at info@wheatlandhospice.ca. We read every message and reply.