By Seth Schmidt
Optimism is building that Hospice of Murray County will reach a fund-raising goal and start construction on a four-bedroom hospice house in Tracy by early summer.
“It’s looking very favorable,” reports Nathan Schunke, Hospice of Murray County administrator.
As of last week, pledges and donations for the new hospice house were just over $166,000, with another $35,000 verbally committed. Schunke feels that the goal of reaching a $250,000 goal by April 6 is now well within reach.
Blueprints for the house were to be reviewed with an architect this week, with plans then submitted to the state for final approval, Schunke said. Once the $250,000 funding-raising target is reached, and the hospice’s governing board gives the go-ahead, the project will be put up for bids, he said. Under a best-case scenario, bids would be opened in mid-May, with construction starting in late spring or early summer, Schunke said.
The goal, Schunke said, is to have “Our House” of Tracy open and ready to serve patients and families in January of 2019.
For more on this article, see this week’s Headlight-Herald.