OLDS — It’s been a whirlwind of change for the Mountain View Hospice Society (MVHS).
After changing its name from the Olds & District Hospice Society, the group went through a couple of personnel changes and now, staff and volunteers are settled into their new location in the former Gadgets IT location on 51st Street.
MVHS staff and volunteers made that move at the end of August.
Executive director Mary Marshall says their lease at the Olds United Church, where the society had been since February 2023, was about to expire.
They had been seriously looking at moving into the former Olds Fire Department hall, but decided that the necessary renovations, which Marshall said were expected to be in the $200,000 range, were just too expensive.
They were approached with the possibility of moving into the Stevens Jewellers building. Instead, Gadgets IT moved in there, thereby opening up the chance to move into Gadgets’ old space.
It’s virtually next door to Nu2U, a thrift store that’s also part of the MVHS family.
“We made a quick decision that we could be close to Nu2U because part of our strategic plan is for all of our operations to be together,” Marshall said during an interview with the Albertan.
That’s one advantage. Another is that the building is very accessible, being all on one level.
Marshall sees another big advantage though.
“I think the confidentiality piece is the biggest gain, because it’s only us in this space, so everything is just the Mountain View Hospice Society. That’s a huge gain,” she said.
“We’ve already noticed that our volunteers and clients are stopping by more readily in our space, just because we’re downtown, we’re accessible, everything’s in walking distance, which is really nice. I think all around, it just made sense.”
Marshall said so far, the only renovation made in their new space has been some painting.
She was asked if other renovations might be done. She said they’ll just “live in” the place for a while before deciding on whether or what renovations might be needed.
As of last week, the Gadgets sign still remained above the entrance into the building. Marshall said that should change in a couple of weeks.
On Sept. 10, the MVHS held a volunteer appreciation night, attended by about 50 volunteers. Members of the Kiwanis Club of Olds cooked the burgers.
Originally, the plan was to hold that event in Centennial Park. However, it was relocated to their new location, due to concerns about weather.
Marshall said that turned out to be a good thing: they were able to showcase their new location.
It was also an opportunity for volunteers and others to meet the organization’s new services coordinator Bridget Ryan. She replaces Cindy Palin who plans to still help out in some capacity.
“With over 17,500 volunteer hours contributed to supporting palliative care in Mountain View County (area) and 100 per cent positive evaluations received, we are incredibly fortunate to have so many dedicated, caring volunteers generously giving their time to support others,” Marshall wrote in a text.
