For about 20 years, Guelph’s Italian-Canadian community, through the non-profit corporation Villa Canadese, wanted to establish a palliative care facility for their own. It was not to be.
On Wednesday, the now discontinued corporation gave the contents of its coffers, $70,000, to St. Joseph’s Health Centre, to be used to enhance the health care facility’s palliative care rooms.
Aldo Braida, president of Villa Canadese, spoke at a packed ceremony Wednesday at St. Joseph’s. He said since 1994, the corporation advanced its goal of raising funds to build a palliative care villa in Guelph for Italian-Canadians.
But after about 20 years, with the death of some board of director members and the retirement of others, the effort began to wind down.
“The dream of a separate home could not be realized,” he said, adding that after paying corporation fees and other expenses, just over $70,000 remained to be distributed to an organization with a similar objective. It was decided that St. Joseph’s would be an ideal benefactor.
The money will go toward transforming eight palliative care rooms at St. Joseph’s to create a more calming, comfortable, and homelike environment for patients and their family members.
Sera Filice-Armenio, chief executive officer of St. Joseph’s Health Centre Guelph Foundation, said her organization was “truly moved” by the generosity of Villa Canadese.
The gift, she added, will allow St. Joseph’s to advance its mission to provide exceptional care to its residents.
Guelph Mayor Cam Guthrie said the bringing together of the local Italian-Canadian community and St. Joseph’s was a partnership between two of the best things about Guelph. The city’s Italian culture and heritage is a defining element of community life, and the work that St. Joseph’s has long been doing is exemplary, he indicated.
The City of Guelph, he said, works hard to make the city age-friendly and a great place for seniors to live. But the kind of gift that Villa Canadese bestowed on St. Joseph’s is something that local policy or government didn't have a hand in, and that is an example of the strength of this community.
“It is a wonderful privilege to thank you one behalf of city council and the community,” he said.
Francesca Orlando, Italian Vice Consul, attended the celebration. She comes from a health care background. She said people in palliative care want to be able to choose how their life ends, and they want that final stage of their life to be one of dignity and compassion.
“They want a sense of control over their life,” she said, adding that the Villa Canadese gift and the palliative care done at St. Joseph’s will ensure they have what they want and need.
David Wormald, president of the health centre, said the Villa Canadese gift is the kind of community support that enables St. Joseph’s to continue doing the work it does.
Among other things, the money will go towards the purchase of items like new bedding, drapery, and tasteful décor, as well as to the purchase of specialized reclining chairs that allow visitors to rest along side the resident.
