Springfield, Massachusetts-based Mercy Medical Center is about to unveil a new dedicated palliative care unit.
Dubbed the Andy Yee Memorial Palliative Care Unit, it will serve approximately 300 patients annually. The final stage of renovating the space will include the remodeling of eight patient rooms. The unit’s name memorializes local restaurateur Andy Yee, who died of cancer at age 59.
In addition to patient beds, the 5,000-square-foot unit will include a family waiting room, a reflection space and a consultation area.
“The Andy Yee Palliative Care Unit is a special place here in the city of Springfield as we develop this, to create a state of the art facility to provide dignified and respectful care for people at the end of their life or experiencing symptoms relating to severe chronic illness,” Dr. Robert Roose, president of Mercy Medical Center, told local news.
The City of Springfield allocated $250,000 in American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds and other resources to help cover the costs associated with the new unit.
Mercy Medical Center is a 251-bed general medical and surgical hospital that is part of the Trinity Health Network.
The proportion of Massachusetts’s population that is 60 and older is growing more rapidly than other age groups, according to the Administration for Community Living.
The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that more than 25% of Massachusetts’s population will be 60 and older by the year 2030, up 33% from 2012. Currently, seniors represent about 21% of the state’s residents.
