Fidelis House is preparing for an expansion
There are many good reasons to play the Wolfville Rotary Club’s weekly Toonie Toss.
In addition to winning some cash, the winner also helps a charity of their choice. Each week the winner chooses from a list of Canada Revenue Agency designated charities to receive 10 per cent of the club’s portion of the winnings.
When Karen Dimock won a recent Toonie Toss, she did some research and put some serious consideration into where to direct her donation.
“After reading about Fidelis House Society, and what it stood for, it was an easy choice,” the Mount Uniacke resident says. “To have a place to stay and be close to an ill family member is so important especially after COVID has kept so many apart for so long.”
Situated on the grounds of the Valley Regional Hospital, Fidelis House has been providing much needed overnight accommodations since 1992. In addition to patients and guests, Fidelis House also offers accommodations to visiting medical professionals.
The need to bring in medical personnel from other areas, particularly emergency room physicians, has placed additional demand on Fidelis House.
“We’re now providing more than 1,000 bed-nights each year to medical personnel alone,” says Fidelis House administrator John Calpin. “On many nights we are completely booked.”
During a typical year, the facility provides about 4,000 bed-nights for guests, Calpin points out, and the overnight rate of $25 has not changed in 20 years.
“We’ve always relied on donations from guests but this is the first campaign we’ve ever launched,” Calpin adds.
Last October, Fidelis House launched a fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $300,000 for an expansion that will add four new rooms, each with its own three-piece bathroom and shower.
“They will be designed to meet all of the current codes for accessibility,” Calpin points out.
Bids on the expansion project have already been submitted and construction is scheduled to begin in the spring.
“We like to consider Fidelis House an extension of hospital services,” Calpin says. “So, we always do our best not to turn people away.”
The story of Fidelis House embraces the bonds of friendship. Gertrude Morse and Shirley Cameron became close friends after meeting in the mid-1970s. In 1981, Cameron was diagnosed with myeloblastic leukemia and chemotherapy treatments took her to Halifax for extended periods of time. During these times away from family and friends she began to dream of a project; a place patients’ family members could stay overnight.
It would be more than just a cot, but a real home-like environment, with private bedrooms and bath, a proper kitchen and a living area where people could gather and share their experiences. She called the idea Fidelis House, after her mother, Fidelis Cameron.
Shirley passed away in 1988 but Morse and about 25 community members came together to form an organizing team, raising funds and rallying community support. Small fundraisers led to larger ones and Fidelis House officially opened its doors in October 1992.