The multi-million rand Alex Hospice and Rehabilitation Centre is racing toward the finish line with 95% of construction work completed.
The 48-bed and 12-ward ultra-modern and state-of-the-art hospice begins to brighten the skyline and to change the landscape of the township along with the state of health in the area.
The Johannesburg Development Agency (JDA), the City of Johannesburg’s development implementing agent, undertook the design and construction of this modernised facility to bridge the gap by providing healthcare for chronic, terminally ill patients and rehabilitation for intermediate-care patients to service the community in Alex and its surrounds.
Located on the corner of Lenin Drive in Far East Bank, the facility will have a frail-care ward and consulting rooms for doctors, physiotherapists, and psychologists, plus a dining and recreational room, is fast reaching completion.
There is a garden and wall of remembrance for patients and visitors to sit and share stories. There are also 16 dedicated parking spaces and a drop-off bay, a guardhouse and a boom gate for access control.
A small vegetable garden has been established on the rooftop. For water supply, there’s a water tank tower for both portable and firewater. The facility also boasts a backup generator and 114 solar panels to ensure a stable and reliable energy supply to carry out essential services. This modern building has a retaining wall, site reticulation and concrete foundations reinforced with steel for additional strength.
There was a dire need for the hospice to service an estimated population of 900 000 residents. The current one operates from an old, deteriorating former school building that needs attention.
“It was not only the JDA’s intention to build a facility to provide dignity and medical care for vulnerable residents but its objective as well to undertake public infrastructure projects using local labour to provide employment opportunities to unskilled and semi-skilled workers optimally,” said Sherylee Moonsamy, the acting CEO of the JDA.
“We are excited that the facility will continue to be managed by the NPO, Alex Hospice and Rehab Centre. The project empowered 14 local SMMEs from the construction phase and now that it’s close to opening, a total of 89 permanent work opportunities are anticipated when the facility finally opens its doors in the first quarter of the year.”
