Time to celebrate! BCHPCA Awards deadline has been extended!

IT IS TIME TO CELEBRATE!

Nominate a colleague for The BCHPCA Award of Excellence or apply for The BCHPCA Research Award.

For further information go to: http://www.hospicebc.org/news-events/awards

Hospice Palliative Care Ontario - Annual Conference and BIG NEWS!

The Hospice Association of Ontario and the Ontario Palliative Care Association have merged to form Hospice Palliative Care Ontario! The annual conference provided the opportunity to formalize this union. Rituals of union were integrated with the Gala Dinner.

The new charter is available at http://www.ontariopalliativecare.org/pdfs/2011/HAO-OPCA_Integration_Update_Feb_22_2011.pdf

The energy of the membership was infectious. The commitment of their leaders to the process, is/was evident. And people were delighted that their fearless leader Chris Sherwood was able to attend and celebrate with them!

Way to go Ontario! Good work.

Ted and I enjoyed meeting new people and reestablishing relationships with people we have met before. Thank you so much to the people who dropped by the booth to meet us, get more information about the 'Essentials" resources and/or the online program, and those who shared your stories and experiences with both the materials and the online courses!

Congrats to Marge Dennis who won the "Essentials in Hospice Palliative Care" manual and workbook. Glad that you can share it with your local hospice group.
Congrats to Laura Bean who won the online course! We look forward to meeting you!

Thanks to the planning committee for arranging such an outstanding conference with great speakers, workshops, food, and networking!

Warm regards,

Kath

PS Thanks Brenda from Canadian Virtual Hospice for the special memory of hot chocolate shared with Bev from Room 217 and the vivacious "Hot Chocolate Lady"!
Same time same place next year!?

Senator Sharon Carstairs - committed to excellent end of life care!

Senator Carstairs is a legend! She has advocated tirelessly for HPC in Canada for years. She spoke at the Hospice Palliative Care Ontario conference yesterday. It was a privilege to hear her speak.

I thought that those who were not there, might like to hear a few of her comments. Here are a few of my notes:

10% of Canadians die suddenly. 90% of Canadians can use HPC services. Less than 30% receive support from a specialty HPC team. The majority of those who receive the services die from cancer. People dying from non-traditional hospice diagnoses (including chronic illnesses), those living in rural and First Nation communities have greater difficulty accessing resources. We have a long way to go!

Euthanasia,... the debate is coming forward again. We should NOT discuss this in a vacuum. We need to first ensure that every Canadian has access to Hospice Palliative Care - and only then have the debate! When people have access to good HPC their perspective on euthanasia changes.


According to stats, in Canada 2011 - 13% are over 65. In 2031 - 25% will be over 65. That is nearly double the current number in just twenty years!

HPC needs to be a core service in health care, not an optional piece that each area of health care can put aside.

She quoted Harvey Chochinov's great statement regarding HPC not having a vocal constituency:
"The dead are not here to speak, the dying are too weak to speak, and the bereaved are too overcome by their grief to speak."

Senator Carstairs said, "I believe HPC is an art. It is the essence of our humanity."

Personally, I enjoyed hearing the story of how she came to politics. At 15 years old, she graduated from high school. She applied to nursing. Apparently her mother switched her application from nursing to pre-medicine. Then in second year she took an elective in Political Science - and the rest is history!

How fortunate we are that she followed her love of politics!

All the best Senator Carstairs. Thanks for staying on as a "champion" even when you retire from the Senate!

Kath

Photo of Louise Cadrin and Senator Carstairs. Retrieved April 12th from:
http://www.counterweights.ca/2010/05/three-strikes-and-you%E2%80%99re-out-harper-government-not-really-driving-canadian-senate-reform-agenda-now/
Louise Cadrin is director of palliative care services for the Regina Qu'Appelle Health Region in Regina, Saskatchewan,

Advance Care Planning Day

Preparedness takes on new meanings depending, among other things, on our daily lives, family circumstances, and global issues…

During childrearing years an apparently simple but forever difficult planning decision was “what am I going to cook for dinner”. Before going on an annual “honeymoon” the practical question was “who is going to take care of the kids while we are away?” The bigger question was, “Who will take care and love the kids if anything happens to us?”

Living on Vancouver Island there is always a possibility of an earthquake which means that in addition to figuring out what to cook for dinner, I am supposed to have a 72 hour kit. Like cooking dinner, it sounds relatively simple. Get a list of what is needed to survive for 72 hours, pull together and/or purchase the items, put them in a bag, store them in an accessible location and update the contents as needed. The reality, like planning dinner, or writing a will, is that it takes longer to worry about it, than to do it! And, like cooking dinner, or writing a will, when it is done, it feels SOOOO good!

Today April 12^th is Advance Care Planning Day in Canada! The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) has launched a new website - "Speaking Up". The site was developed to "raise awareness of the importance of advance care planning, as well as the issues related to an aging population, a strained health care system and end of life care. The "Speak Up" campaign reminds Canadians to think about and talk about their end of life wishes.” (retrieved from website April 12, 2011) In addition there is information to help get you started. http://www.advancecareplanning.ca/home.aspx

The best part of ACP is the conversation around the dinner table. I told my gang that I figured that when I was ready I would like to follow an old tradition of going for a long walk in the ice, perhaps out on an ice flow. My darling son in law, who I am sure adores me (?!) has kindly offered to push the iceflow away when I am ready. He reminded me though that with global warming I may not want to wait too long. How good to have loved ones to help make your wishes come true.

My darling colleague Dr Deb Braithwaite talks of visiting families after the death, and debriefing, touching base, etc... I told her that she would know my house,... it would be the one with all the balloons in the driveway, and she would hear the old Wizard of Oz song playing, "Ding Dong the Witch is Dead". My daughter used to groan when she heard me say that, but now she says, "We are going to have to get that song when you die, just so we can laugh and play it. In reality, I think they will play my two favorite songs... "What a wonderful world" and "I love to laugh".

As for the care before death... we have had a few serious conversations about that. The legal papers are all signed appointing a person to speak for me should I not be able to speak for myself. And, so far, I have not needed that help. The good thing, like my preparedness kit, it is done!

Now I just have to figure out what to cook for dinner!

For those who are doing fine in the meal planning department, perhaps instead of gifting someone with a recipe book, you can consider sending the link to help them with Advance Care Planning!

Have a great day!

Kath

Loss Grief and Growth - a resource for teachers supporting students

If you are a Funeral Director (FD) in Ontario, you are required to attend two days of Continuing Education every five years to maintain your license. This year I had the privilege of attending the education sponsored by the Ontario Board of Funeral Services to present the “Loss Grief and Growth” (LGG) education resource. This resource was developed to support teachers who are preparing and/or supporting kids experiencing loss and grief. (see post 26/2010)

Throughout the two days, Suzanne Scott from Funeral Services of Canada and I met some great people who are very interested in helping to carry the LGG resource into the schools.

The FDs shared stories of incredible work they are doing with kids, in schools, and in community.

One of the stories that touched me:

A Funeral Director (FD) from a small town near the Quebec border spoke of his children, and how they welcome children who are visiting the Funeral Home. Apparently, he purchased suits for his two young boys. When they see kids come with parents to the Funeral Home to make arrangements, his children often go home, get their suits on, come back to the funeral home, and start to visit with the kids. They show the kids a room with toys, and then sometimes take the kids to show them the chapel, the caskets, the waiting room etc.. This has been a great gift for the visiting kids who might otherwise have been uncomfortable. I am confident that the children are provided some direction and support.

Once again I had the opportunity to hear Yves Berthiume speak about his tours for the Grade 7’s and 8’s to his funeral home. The teachers and kids LOVE the tours. They enter the building, sign in, and then go through as though they were adults on tour. When the time comes for questions they are full of them! The questions last until they are pulled away to return to school.

A FD told of a child who toured the funeral home, and whose father died unexpectedly months later. The mother was lost. The child said, “Don’t worry mom, now we go to the Funeral Home, and this is what happens.” The child was not afraid, the child knew what to expect.

Another child toured the funeral home, and later when he was dying of cancer, returned to choose a casket, and plan his funeral.

Sometimes I hear hospice workers say, “Oh, we don’t work with kids” forgetting that most of their clients/patients, have children or grandchildren within their circle of loved ones. We need to remember these short people, and attend to their needs as well.

The teachers in our communities are in an amazing position to support, mentor, and guide our youth. The LGG resource is one resource to help them do so.

LGG can be downloaded free of charge from www.curriculum.org listed under supplementary resources. Or go to www.fsac.ca

Kath

BC Hospice Palliative Care Association Conference

Hi all,

The annual BCHPCA conference is May 12th and 13th adjacent to the Vancouver airport. (Fly in and take a free shuttle to the hotel!)

This is a great opportunity to come together, share, laugh, learn and replenish.

Day one

Keynote addresses by two phenomenal presenters....

• Elizabeth Causton: Changing the way we work - Self First

• Glenda Standeven: Choosing to Smile
  

See Glenda's website and read her story at; http://www.glendastandeven.com/

Workshops:

• Paul Holmes: SocialNetworking
• Cari Hoffman: Advanced Care Planning
• Elizabeth Causton: Final Gifts

Networking sessions in the afternoon!

Awards dinner and dance to top off a good day.

Day two

Participate in a full day session with Dr. Alan Wolfelt (sponsored by Kearney's Funeral home)

· Exploring Spiritual Aspects of Death, Grief and Mourning: A Workshop for Caregivers

· Helping Children and Teens Cope With Grief: A “Companioning” Philosophy of Caregiving

Early bird registration cut off is April 15^th . Register at the following link:

http://www.hospicebc.org/news-events/bc-hospice-palliative-care-association-conference

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to email me for more information! or Contact the BCHPCA office.

Kath