The ‘History of Milford’ started with the Little Company of Mary establishing the nursing home in 1928 and then in 1977 they decided to dedicate nine of those beds as palliative care beds.
In 1983, in response to growing need they built a twenty bed Hospice Unit on the campus.
In 1998 Milford Care Centre became a Company Limited by Guarantee, with the appointment of a Board of Directors. Now, as then, the Sisters remained actively involved in the governance of the Centre.
With increasing regulation it became obvious that the Nursing Home needed to be moved to more appropriate accommodation and a decision was taken in the mid-1990s to redevelop the Centre. In 1999 a seventy seven bed unit opened with thirty beds for those with a palliative care diagnosis and forty seven beds for the Nursing Home.
In 2000 a Day Care Centre was introduced covering palliative care (two days per week) and older person’s care (three days per week). The first Consultant in Palliative Medicine was appointed.
In 2003/2004 the Hospice at Home service was expanded on a pilot basis and, this having been successful, further growth in this service commenced in late 2006 and a consultant-led multi-disciplinary team is now in place.
A second Consultant in Palliative Medicine was appointed in late 2005.
In 2007 the Centre was accredited by the Irish Health Services Accreditation Board and was the first facility to be accredited for both palliative care and nursing home care.
Building work took place during 2007/2009 and accommodation was provided for the medical, Hospice at Home and Education, Research and Professional Development services, assessment and treatment facilities and additional Day Care space.
In 2010 further development funding was made available by the HSE which, among other things, allowed the Day Care Centres to extend their operations. Today Older Persons Day Care runs five days a week and Palliative Day Care opened for a third day.
A third Consultant in Palliative Medicine was appointed in August 2011.
None of this would have been possible without the initiative and foresight of the Little Company of Mary, the Board of Directors and the Centre’s Management Team, allied to financial support from our stakeholders: the Health Service Executive (and its predecessor, the Mid Western Health Board), philanthropic organisations, other voluntary agencies and those who contribute to our fundraising either through donations or through organising events.