Hospice for AIDS Patients Dedicated
State and local officials gathered Wednesday morning at Metropolitan State Hospital in Norwalk to dedicate a 66-year-old building for use as a 35-bed AIDS hospice.
The former hospital administration building, a brick-and-plaster structure built in 1923, will be remodeled and expanded at a cost of $1.5 million to $2 million before opening next summer, officials said.
The nonprofit AIDS Hospice Foundation of Los Angeles will operate the facility, setting aside 25 beds for AIDS patients who require medical care. Ten beds will be for people who have AIDS but need little care, foundation President Michael Weinstein said.
The hospice will have about 40 staff members, including a part-time doctor, licensed vocational nurses, a bereavement counselor and a social worker.
State-backed bonds will provide money for the renovation and expansion of the old administration building. The Hospice Foundation is trying to secure grants and raise other operating funds for the facility, expected to have a $1.2-million annual budget, Weinstein said.
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