Vancouver businessman donates $1 million for grief center

A Vancouver businessman has donated $1 million toward the construction of a new grief support center in honor of his late wife.

Don Heimbigner made the gift to the Community Home Health & Hospice capital campaign for a grief support center, conference center and memorial garden in Salmon Creek. Heimbigner’s wife, Elaine, was a long-time patient who received in-home care and hospice services until she died in February.

The new 9,000-square-foot facility will be constructed next to Community Home Health & Hospice’s 10-bed hospice center, which will now be called Elaine and Don Heimbigner Hospice Care Center, near Legacy Salmon Creek Medical Center.

“Throughout our 58-year marriage, everyone referred to us as ‘Don and Elaine Heimbigner.’ Now she will finally be first,” Don Heimbigner said in a news release. Heimbigner owned Don’s Sports Center and patented a bowling ball finger grip that was highly successful, according to the news release.

Community Home Health & Hospice kicked off the capital campaign last year. With more than $3 million raised, the project is now in the design stage. Construction will begin in the spring and a grand opening is scheduled for late 2017 or early 2018, said Greg Pang, the center’s president and CEO, in the news release.

“The Heimbigners gift will enable us to expand our nonprofit mission to thousands more in our community who need our support,” Pang said in the news release. “As a nonprofit agency, it is our mission to extend grief care to everyone in the community, not only hospice families.”

The local grief center will offer free programs and will include specialized rooms for children, teens and adults. The conference center will be open for a variety of community uses.

“This will become a community destination for healing and hope,” Pang said.