About Us
Our mission is to provide practical, emotional, and spiritual support to individuals and their loved ones through the stages of dying, death, and bereavement.
Local District Information
Nelson & District Hospice Society was established in 1986 as a registered non-profit society with charitable tax status. As a volunteer program, the Society works closely with healthcare providers, counsellors, therapists, clergy, and pharmacists to provide compassionate care and support for the dying and the bereaved in our communities.
Serving Nelson, and the East Shore, the Society provides services to residents in the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, Canada.
Nelson & District Hospice Society is financially supported by the Interior Health Authority, the Vancouver Foundation Endowment Fund, community donations, and memberships. We have also received grants from the Columbia Basin Trust, Nelson & District Credit Union, and the Strategic Charitable Giving Foundation to fund various activities and services.
Individual and community donations are vital to our services. If you wish to become a volunteer and support the community or make a donation in memory of a loved one, please reach out to us.
Nelson & Area Executive Director/Coordinator
Jane DiGiacomo
518 Lake St., Suite 102B
Nelson, BC
V1L 4C6
Phone: 250-352-2337
E-mail: info@nelsonhospice.org
East Shore & Area Coordinator
Cherry MacLagan
Box 217
Crawford Bay, BC
V0B 1E0
Phone: 250-505-4915
E-mail: info@eastshorehospice.org
A message from NDHS’s Executive Director Jane DiGiacomo
Meet our board of directors
A dedicated team of skilled leaders who volunetter their time.
Lonnie Facchina
Board Chair
I took the hospice training in May 2013 when a good friend’s husband died and I didn’t know what to say to her or what to do to help.
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I wasn’t sure if I’d ever volunteer, or if I just wanted to learn through the training how to support grieving friends and family members, but I was profoundly impacted and excited to volunteer. I feel like I made a difference for people at the end of their life, and for their family members too. Over the years I’ve joined the board of directors, taken the grief support training and co-facilitated the grief group for several years. I love doing the work, I love our volunteers and I love how much I’ve learned about grief, death and dying in terms of my own mortality. I am retired, and live in Nelson with my husband, Norm. I love cooking vegan food and traveling in my Minnie Winnie travel trailer!
Lise Beaulieu
Vice Chair
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…family by his side through his death journey. The question remained for me “What is it like for people who are dying without friends and family support?” “What happens to the loved ones left behind?” This began my calling as a volunteer.
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…decided to begin providing volunteer hospice supports in our community in 1986. Since NDHS incorporated in 1987, she has been on the Board and now serves as the Treasurer for the organization. While giving many years of service to Nelson Hospice, she has shepherded many students through scraped knees, field trip forms and calls home as Secretary of the Gordon Sergeant and then Blewett Elementary Schools. Jane’s service to and connection to the history of Nelson Hospice is an invaluable asset on our Board.
Morag Reid
Treasurer
I’ve been interested in the care of dying people since I was a teenager, when my mother, a family doctor, set up a hospice in the UK.
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Eliza Hicks
Secretary
Eliza Hicks is a certified hospice and palliative care nurse (Canada) (CHPCN(C)) and has worked for Interior Health since 2012.
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Her nursing work has always been in community sectors like Home Health and Chronic Disease Management programs. Her passion for quality palliative care and collaborative leadership, led her to serve with the Nelson and District Hospice Society
Jean MacLean
Member at Large
When I retired in 2017 I became a hospice volunteer with the East Shore Hospice Society, a subsidiary of the Nelson & District Hospice Society.
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My life experiences related to death and dying were the catalyst for wanting to support the dying with the ability to die at home.
In 2020, I volunteered to represent the ESHS on the NDHS board. As a board member I bring 38 years of business experience and a passion to help those in need. Being a hospice volunteer is an enriching and interesting personal experience for me.
Additional Local Community Hospice Associations
The B.C. Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) represents over one hundred hospice programs in British Columbia. The link above will direct you to a listing of all the hospices in British Columbia registered with the BCHPCA. Below is a listing of the Boundary-West Kootenay Hospices.
Boundary Community Hospice Association
7649 22nd Street
Grand Forks, B.C. V0H 1H2
Phone: (250) 443-2162
Castlegar Hospice Society
709-10th Street
Castlegar, B.C. V1N 4H7
Phone: (250) 304-1266
Nakusp Hospice Society
Box 87
Nakusp, B.C. V0G 1R0
Phone: (250) 265-4137
New Denver Hospice Society
Box 217
New Denver, B.C. V0G 2B0
Phone/Fax: (250) 358-7298
Salmo and District Hospice Society
Box 759
Salmo, B.C. V0G 1O2
Phone: (250) 357-9626
Trail and District Hospice
Kiro Wellness Centre 1500 Columbia Ave.
Trail, B.C. V1R 4M1
Phone: (250) 364-6204
Nelson and Area
Nelson is a picturesque city on the West Arm of Kootenay Lake in British Columbia, Canada, with a population of just over 10,000. It hosts various services and opportunities to attract people worldwide to experience its natural beauty and relaxed Kootenay lifestyle.
In 1984, a small volunteer group came together to offer end-of-life caregiving services to the terminally ill residents of Nelson. That’s how Nelson & District Hospice Society was formed. Since then, we have grown into a flourishing volunteer organization providing service to a large geographic area extending along the North Shore to Balfour and in the other direction all the way up to Slocan City. A group of 45 trained volunteers works to support clients in their homes, hospitals, and care facilities. We are dedicated to maintaining a close working relationship among ourselves, Community Home Nursing, the staff at Kootenay Lake Hospital, and many other service providers in the community.
Connect With Us
Nelson
250-352-2337
East Shore
250-505-4915
info@eastshorehospice.org
About Us
Nelson & District Hospice Society works closely with healthcare providers, counsellors, therapists, clergy, and pharmacists to provide compassionate care and support for the dying and the bereaved in our communities.
