OLDS — An arrangement that has seen the Olds & District Hospice Society (ODHS) move into the Olds United Church building may not be the end of changes to that facility.
The church’s board and congregation are considering other possible alterations as well.
One idea thrown around would be to construct an expansion to accommodate ODHS hospices suites and seniors’ living quarters.
But there's no guarantee that’ll happen, United Church trustee chair Jim Loy says. He says other ideas may bubble up too.
The bottom line, he said during an interview, is that the congregation needs to do something to stay afloat.
Loy said its congregation has dwindled from about 120 to 150 people about five years ago to 30 to 40 these days.
"We know that something has to change. Our membership numbers are down,” he said.
“For us to sustain ourselves, we need a source of revenue. We’re looking at how we can build the correct combination of a revenue source and a service to our community.
“We are sourcing information at the moment and we haven’t reached that decision-making time.”
Loy was asked if the board and congregation have a target date or deadline to reach a decision.
“Well, it’s one of those situations: the sooner the better,” he said. “We’re dipping into reserves to continue operation, so the sooner we make a choice the better, and yet we don’t want to rush into something and make a bad choice.”
The ODHS began moving over to the church from their former quarters at 50th Avenue and 50th Street the last week in January.
The move was completed on Feb. 1 in a couple of hours with the help of members of the Mountain View Colts.
ODHS executive director Mary Smith gave the Albertan a tour of their new home last week.
(At the time, Smith’s office still said “Study” on the door, but she said that’ll change soon).
Smith said most offices hardly needed any changes. Staff were able to move right in once the furniture was in place.
In addition to Smith’s office, there’s a place for reception, an office/greeting room for services coordinator Cindy Palin, an administrative area, and a bereavement room.
A few items like a desk were still missing, and a countertop needed to be replaced, but that’s about it.
The United Church congregation now meets in a hall across the way from its sanctuary. As the Albertan previously reported, that sanctuary is leased by the Redemption Church.
The ODHS board now meets in the hall as well, at a table positioned by a small kitchen area, which, Smith noted jokingly is convenient for making tea or coffee.
ODHS also has some storage space downstairs.
Smith likes the fact that the hallway in from the front door serves as a “kind of common area.”
“The space really fits our needs well,” she said. “(It’s) pretty nice in here. We’re pretty happy about the whole thing.”
One day, Smith said, the society might want to move Nu2U, its thrift store, to the United Church building.
Loy didn’t discount that possibility, but stressed no decisions have been made in that regard.
On Feb. 8, representatives of the United Church met with the ODHS board to discuss ideas of what could happen with the building.
The ODHS board voted to send a letter of interest regarding those ideas.
Smith said the proposal is to have two representatives of the ODHS board, two United Church trustees and herself form a committee to talk about options for the future of the building.
The need for hospice suites is strong, Smith said.
She said ODHS is considering having a total of five hospice suites in Mountain View County to accommodate that need.
Under that scenario, three would be located at the United Church, one in Didsbury and one run in Sundre in conjunction with the Sundre Palliative Care Association.
Smith said there’s almost always a waiting list. Currently one or two people are on that list, but at one time, it was much longer.
"There was one point where, yeah, we had 10 on the wait list and probably six that were qualified to go into the suites, so they met all their comfort level care, palliative performance scale scoring – everything was in order,” she said.
Smith said even having one or two people on a wait list is stressful, as they could die while waiting for a suite.
“When the suites are full, then we try to find other alternatives for people so they’re not on the wait list, but they would access the suites if they were here, and open,” she said.
Smith stressed if hospice suites were moved over to an expanded United Church facility that would take some time – maybe two or three years – not only for construction, but also for other details, like approval from and coordination with Alberta Health Services.
The idea to move ODHS into the United Church began a year ago when Smith learned that the church was looking for extra revenue. At that same time, ODHS was looking for more accessible space.
She contacted the church, took a look around and the rest is history.
“I just came in and asked if there was a possibility, and now we’re here,” she said.
Loy’s recollection is that ODHS has an 18-month lease on its new space.
He said the congregation sees that use as a good way to bring in needed revenue while accommodating a community organization.
As for possible future expansion and revenue sources, he said members of the congregation are split on what they want to do.
Loy was asked how a congregation of only 30 to 40 people could afford expansion.
“It is my understanding from the powers that be – this is regional United Church executive – that there is the availability of a developer that will do the development with their costs. It will cost us zero,” he said.
But on the other hand, it’s also Loy’s understanding that revenue accruing from that expansion would likely have to be split in some fashion with that developer.
“By and large, our congregation is very supportive with what’s happening – absolutely,” he said.
“Like I say, we’re exploring the options. There’s no question that the membership in our congregation would like to survive in some form or other. Now, is it doable? We're working on answering that question.”
