The Central Queensland community today celebrates the official opening of the much-needed hospice service, Fitzroy Community Hospice, which secured $8 million in federal funding to kickstart its journey to reality in 2021.
Federal Member for Capricornia, Michelle Landry said it was a no-brainer to provide the funds needed to Fitzroy Community Hospice for the Central Queenslanders to access such an important aspect of end-of-life care.
“I was first approached by the tenacious Steve and Debbie Richards with their dream of creating a state-of-the-art hospice care centre for Central Queenslanders back in 2021. Their vision of what they wanted to bring to our community is what drove me to deliver $8 million for this critical service.
“Adequate access to palliative care in Central Queensland had been a concern raised with me for some time.
“I fought hard for this service as it is absolutely crucial that comprehensive access to community-based palliative care is available in Central Queensland, which is why I am delighted to see this service be officially opened today.
The 12-bed facility based in Rockhampton will be the first regional Hospice in the state and will provide dedicated, holistic end-of-life care in the community and support families and carers.
“I thank the former Coalition Government for seeing the value of this service for Capricornia and working with me to deliver the funding so that we could kick-start a project which would deliver an all-encompassing care service for our community,” Ms Landry said.
