Gift of Millions Provides Peace for the Dying
08/01/2008
-Local philanthropist Ray Hickey donates $3 million to provide
end-of-life care at Clark County's only free-standing hospice house-
The Southwest Washington Medical Center Foundation is proud to announce a $3 million gift from the Ray Hickey family to support the care of patients at the Ray Hickey Hospice House in Vancouver. The donation will be recognized at a reception in honor of Mr. Hickey and the Hospice House staff on Tuesday, July 24 at noon at the Hospice House, located at 2112 E. Mill Plain Blvd. in Vancouver.
The $3 million gift will be used to establish an endowment fund to help cover the cost of care for low income patients. With the donation from Mr. Hickey, plus matching gifts and individual donations, Southwest expects to have enough funding to provide hospice services at the Hospice House for another 200 patients each year.
'Many families in our community have been impacted by the compassionate care and comfort extended to their loved ones,' says Mr. Hickey. 'I consider myself to be just one example of the people in our community-volunteers, caregivers and donors-that answer the call to make our community a wonderful place to live.'
The Ray Hickey Hospice House, a service of Southwest's Hospice program, opened in 2004. As the lead donor, the Ray Hickey family pledged $1.5 million towards the project. The Hospice House is the region's first free-standing inpatient hospice facility.
