Board members, administrative staff and Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis, pictured at right with Tonja Myers, all hefted sledge-hammers July 8 to punch into an existing wall that will give way to the renovation work of Exxel Pacific company in the coming months.
LYNDEN — Not a ribbon-cutting, but a wall-bashing was the chosen way of signaling the start of construction of the new Hospice Suites at the Christian Health Care Center.
Board members, administrative staff and Lynden Mayor Scott Korthuis all hefted sledge-hammers July 8 to punch into an existing wall that will give way to the renovation work of Exxel Pacific company in the coming months.
In all, nine private suites will be created for families with loved ones in end-of-life hospice care. The nearest other such facility in Whatcom County is in south Bellingham.
Each suite will have a patient bed, sleeper sofa, recliner, television, wardrobe and half-bath, so that family members can be present with their dying loved one.
“Families can stay there – that’s the whole purpose. It means so much,” Rowlson said.
It is done in partnership with the existing local hospice network, and the need in the north county was confirmed by an independent economic study, she said.
Both the CHCC Board of Trustees and the associated CHCC Foundation worked closely to launch this project, she said.
The capital campaign to raise $1.5 million is now under way and has reached $835,000, said Foundation Development Director Gurpreet Dhillon. He can be reached at 360-961-7144.
Dhillon said he is confident in having the support of the Lynden community for this type of needed facility “close to home” at 855 Aaron Drive.
It is hoped the suites can open yet in 2026.
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