North Thompson Hospice House Society is going to fold.
The decision to dissolve the society was made during a meeting of about 16 members and supporters held in Little Fort on Monday evening.
The society was formed several years ago to promote the idea of having a hospice in the valley. Unfortunately, a feasibility study done in 2015 to look into the idea found that it was not feasible – that the valley’s population generally did not need more than one hospice bed at a time.
The two hospice societies in Clearwater and Barriere that provide companionship and support to people facing death as well as to their families will continue to operate.
Still to be determined is what to do with the funds raised by the society for the proposed hospice house. Because the hospice house society is a registered federal charity the options for what can be done with the money when it folds are quite limited.
Fundraisers for the hospice house included the annual Bike Challenge, which began in about 2009. Although the format changed from time to time, the Bike Challenge typically saw people attempt to guess where cyclists pedalling south from Clearwater and north from Barriere would meet.
