Meet Beverley Yates, the newly appointed Manager of Margaret’s Place Hospice

It’s said that the end of one’s life deserves as much care and compassion as the beginning.

This notion is something of a mantra for Beverley Yates, the newly appointed Manager of Margaret’s Place Hospice at St. Joseph’s Villa Dundas.

Beverley has blessed the Villa with her presence for over 30 years. In her time here, she has touched the lives of thousands of residents and their families. After a couple of years in a clerical role, she gravitated towards a new path.

“One day before heading home, I was unexplainably drawn to the room of a resident who was in their final days,” said Beverley. “I had the privilege and honour to spend some very special moments with that resident until their passing. I could feel it in my soul that this was something I was meant to do.”

Since that day, Beverley has been living the Sisters’ mission as a Chaplain and Manager of Spiritual Care at St. Joseph’s Villa. Her passion and involvement in palliative care brought her to Chair the Villa’s End of Life Committee, where she has served for 20 years. When the Villa accepted the challenge of developing a hospice on its campus, Beverley was naturally a part of the vision and plan.

And with Margaret’s Place’s completion just around the corner, Beverley looks forward to the care and comfort it will bring to the community.

“Margaret’s Place reflects everything that end-of-life care means. It’s a haven – of rest, of tears, laughter and reflection. It’s a place for a family to be family while journeying with their loved one through their final days.”

The hospice backs on to the Spring Creek Ravine in the heart of Dundas Valley, allowing patients and families to surround themselves with the sights and sounds of nature. The ten-bed residential hospice genuinely feels like a home – sounds of the birds; sights of deer grazing through the green; the smell of homemade meals; the warmth of family around you, and a ‘community family’ to care for you. The compassionate care of hospice staff will be truly transformative in the way we think about the end of life.

And as Beverley beautifully put it,

“We can’t always change the outcome, but we can greatly affect the journey.”