QEH apartment for patients' families increasingly used by patients

A free apartment for families who need a place to stay while loved ones are in hospital in Charlottetown is now increasingly being used by patients.

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Killam Properties has offered a furnished two-bedroom apartment on Kensington Courtnear the QEH for a few years, and now patients for example, those receiving daily radiation or other cancer treatments have been using it about half the time, according to hospital officials.

Having a little haven or refuge which is what this apartment represented for us was wonderful. Elizabeth Kromer

"Because there's so much done now by way of outpatient treatment and procedures, that sometimes patients coming from either end of the Island the far east or the far west are tired after their procedure," said Kerry Moore, who manages the department of social work at the QEH. Poor weather, he notes, also discourages or prevents sick patients from travelling.

The apartment was a welcome sanctuary for Elizabeth Kromer and her husband, who wrote a heartfelt thank you letter to the QEH and Killam Propertiesafter using the apartment a year ago while their daughter Isabel was critically ill in the QEH.

"We were utterly exhausted, not just physically but emotionally. So having a little haven or refuge which is what this apartment represented for us was wonderful," Kromer said. The family lives in Montague and didn't want to be far from their daughter,whohas now fully recovered.

'Good feeling'

Killam Properties is happy to provide the service to whomever needs it.

"It's great because we know we're giving and contributing to the community and that's a good feeling," said Debra Noonan, a residence manager with the company.

Patient use of the apartment may continue to grow, said Moore, noting he's receiving requests from the Prince County Hospital in Summerside to help patients who must travel.

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