Hospice bosses reassure concerned supporters
Following the news that Age Concern are to be forced to leave their Stourbridge home in the Mary Stevens Centre, bosses at the neighbouring Mary Stevens Hospice have reached out to the community to reassure supporters that they are not affected by the same difficulties.
With work starting on a £3 million redevelopment, staff at the Hospice have been receiving “regular messages” from concerned supporters who have read about the troubles affecting Age Concern, and worrying that those troubles extend to the Hagley Road Hospice, which supports local families battling the impact of life-limiting illnesses.
The redevelopment project is the largest the charity has ever undertaken, and the end result will allow the Hospice to support more families through an improved day services unit, offer more extensive therapies and procedures to patients and allow loved ones to stay together in difficult moments through the build of an on-site family apartment.
Dan Malin, Digital Media & PR Specialist, Mary Stevens Hospice, said:
“We’re so grateful for the concern that has been shown by our community, and we really are keen to reassure our supporters that while we are highly sympathetic of the situation which has forced Age Concern to relocate, those difficulties do not extend to the Hospice in any way, shape or form.
As the £3 million redevelopment begins, we are entering a pivotal chapter in the 25-year history of this charity, and we will continue to strive to help more and more families who need our support.
We are well-managed, well-supported and our care is helping more and more families, all of which means there is no foreseeable reason that this charity will ever find itself in a situation where it cannot continue to help families when they need our team the most.”
Stevan Jackson, Chief Executive Officer, Mary Stevens Hospice Group said:
“This is an important time in the development of the hospice. Our chosen main contractor, A M Griffiths and Son Ltd, from Wolverhampton, have been on-site since 3 June and are getting stuck into the refurbishment of the hospice with a will and lots of skill.
At the end of this week we will be moving out of the current Bradbury Day Services Unit and into the temporary Day Unit in our main car park (the old Fundraising & Lottery building). The Fundraising & Lottery team have moved to their new temporary base up at the Mary Stevens Centre behind the hospice which we currently share with Age Concern Stourbridge. However, as has been well documented, they will move out on 1 Sep.
The Fundraising for the hospice development is going well but we have a target to raise around £500,000 to reach our goal. Thank you to everyone in the community for your continued support, without which we could not care for those with progressive, incurable, life-shortening illness amongst us.”
If you have any queries or concerns then please contact our fundraising office on 01384 377 778 for clarification and reassurance.