Paul Paletta (pictured, centre) bestowed the multi-million-dollar gift to the Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice’s ongoing capital campaign to raise $25 million. An event celebrating the transformational gift was held at Carmen’s C-Hotel on Thursday, Aug. 18, 2022. Pictured to the left of Paletta is the hospice’s CEO Danielle Zucchet. Photo credit: CNW Group/Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice Foundation Inc.
Less than two months after committing to a record-breaking $50 million pledge from his family to the Hamilton Community Foundation, Paul Paletta of the Burlington-based Paletta philanthropist family announced a $5 million gift to the Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice in Hamilton. The funds will go toward building a new facility dedicated to palliative care for children in southwestern Ontario.
The youth-focused hospice will be located in Hamilton but serve families from a large region that mirrors the McMaster Children’s Hospital catchment area. It will offer end-of-life care as well as respite, pain and symptom management, as well as bereavement supports.
“When I found out that Greater Hamilton was unique, in that we have one of the world’s best children’s hospitals yet no children’s hospice to match the kind of care children need when facing serious illness, I knew I had to help fix this,” said Paletta, CEO and president of Alinea Group Holding Inc.
“Vancouver, Calgary, Ottawa, Montreal and Toronto families benefit from this essential support – the Hamilton area should be no different.”
Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice, located at 277 Stone Church Rd. E, has helped serve the palliative needs of the Hamilton community for three decades, offering residential care for those facing end-of-life, as well as programs in the community, day-wellness, and care for loved-ones through grief and bereavement supports.
Though the hospice offers limited services for children, including a bereavement camp for youth aged 7-17, Hamilton and the surrounding area lack any kind of dedicated hospice for young people.
In a LinkedIn post after the announcement last Thursday, Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice CEO Danielle Zucchet said Paletta’s donation represented “a monumental step towards bridging the gap in the creation of a children’s hospice in Hamilton and the surrounding region.”
“Through the generosity of Paul Paletta and his transformational gift of $5 million, we have moved from a dream to making this a reality,” wrote Zucchet. “Many have been working on this project over the last few years, including the Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice board, campaign cabinet, as well as the leaders at McMaster Children’s Hospital and Hamilton Health Sciences.”
The McMaster Children’s Hospital catchment area is the second largest in the province, serving 2.3 million residents from Hamilton, central south, and central west Ontario.
Details have yet to be revealed regarding exact location of the new hospice and a timeline of proposed completion.
