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Timely Access and Seamless Transitions in Rural Palliative Care
Our 5-year, interdisciplinary research program focuses on palliative/end-of-life care in rural Canada, and is funded by the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR).
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Our Mission
Canadians view compassionate, respectful palliative and end-of-life (P/EOL) care as a core value. The goal of P/EOL care is to provide high quality care to terminally-ill or dying persons and their families.Despite these lofty ideals, there is much current disparity between the demand for and capacity to provide both basic and specialized P/EOL care, with rural residents the most vulnerable to unmet needs and ineffective transitions from one care setting to another and from a curative to comfort-oriented care aim.
Timely access and effective transitions are the two most essential components for high-quality P/EOL care.
Approximately 1/5 of Canadians live in rural areas. Unless many current evidentiary gaps on access and transitions are addressed, rural Canadians will continue to be in a highly vulnerable position when terminally ill or dying.
This Research Program aims to help close these gaps and enhance the provision of timely and seamless access to P/EOL care for rural Canadians by: 1) fostering capacity in rural P/EOL care; 2) creating an enriched, multidisciplinary environment to develop junior researchers in this area; and 3) establishing a team that will be successful beyond this ICE 5-year program of research.
Our Program of Research is interdisciplinary and interprovincial in nature and scope, and spans five years (from April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2010).
Bereavement Ontario Network is a diverse group of organizations and individuals throughout the province that work in the field of grief, bereavement, and mourning as professionals and volunteers.
The need for a network was first discussed in 1989 at a bereavement conference in Hamilton. The ideas, enthusiasm and energy generated during that conference led to a meeting a year later at which a blueprint for the Bereavement Ontario Network was developed. It does no grief counselling or provide any direct service. Instead, it fills a distinct void by providing linkages between the various groups, counsellors, and bereavement resources already in place.
Today, the Bereavement Ontario Network provides an opportunity to access, in a reciprocal manner, the knowledge, experience, wisdom and sensitivity of other members throughout the province. You can use BON to access this support for your clients, and yourself, from across the province.
Membership in the Bereavement Ontario Network is open to individuals, volunteer organizations, small businesses, and corporations. If your work brings you in contact with the bereaved, BON can help you help them.
BON offers an annual conference, a directory of members, a newsletter, a website, and the services of volunteer Regional Representatives. These Regional Representatives reflect all areas of the province and are available to answer questions about the organization, its resources and how it can assist you.Nataional Child Traumatic Stress Network
The mission is to raise the standard of care and improve access to services for traumatized children, their families and communities throughout the United States. There is access to some exellent tools for healthcare professionals - http://www.healthcaretoolbox.org/index.php- and parents/caregivers - http://aftertheinjury.org/.
Serenity House Hospice is located at at 750 Talbot Street, St. Thomas Ontario. Our mission is to empower families through life threatening illness. This includes everyone of all ages.
The Centre for the Grief Journey
The Mission of the Centre for the Grief Journey is to assist and support people in a grieving process after a significant loss. The Grief Journey approach combines education, empathy and encouragement as part of a comprehensive package of methods and materials. Because there is so little understanding of grief and loss in our “death denying culture”, people often fear they are “losing it”, or “going crazy”. When they understand that grief is a natural, albeit difficult, experience, this fact can free the person to explore their reactions and feelings by giving them “permission” to grieve.
Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children
The Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children offers hope and encouragement to bereaved children and those who are a part of their lives. By providing peer support in a safe, caring, non-judgmental environment, children, teenagers and their families can receive the support they need as they cope with their loss and grow through their grief. From our location in Oakville, the Lighthouse Program for Grieving Children has extended supportive services to families, caregivers, schools and the community in Halton and Peel areas since 1999.
Super Sibs is a non-profit US based organization that provides services, programs and outreach to honor the siblings of children diagnosed with cancer.
Stay Connected - Schools and Ill Children
PACT and the Dana-Farber Institute have put together a booklet to help schools support children who are away from school due to illness.
The following resources have been compiled for school staff to help
prepare in assisting children living with life-limiting illness as they face the
difficult task of remaining connected to the school community. This continued
connection is important to enhance the educational, social, and emotional tasks
of childhood.
The packet also includes resources which address the bereavement needs
of the siblings, peers, and school community and offer guidance for providing
support following the child’s anticipated death. These resources may be helpful
in a variety of circumstances, including student death due to illness.Perinatal Hospice and Palliative Care
Perinatal hospice/palliative care programs and support
As prenatal testing becomes increasingly routine, more parents are learning devastating news before their babies are born. In too many places, the ability to diagnose has raced ahead of the ability to care for these families and their babies. But in a beautiful and practical response, more than 100 pioneering hospitals and hospices in the U.S. and other countries have started providing perinatal hospice/palliative care for families who wish to continue their pregnancies with babies who likely will die before or shortly after birth.A perinatal hospice approach walks with these families on their journey through pregnancy, birth and death, honoring the baby as well as the baby’s family. Perinatal hospice is not a place; it is more a frame of mind. Even in areas without a formal program, parents can create a loving experience for themselves and their baby, and health professionals and family and friends can offer support in the spirit of hospice (see A Gift of Time and the resources for parents and caregivers on this site).
Because the concept of perinatal hospice is relatively new, programs and groups listed below may vary in their scope of support and services. Many of the programs listed below are hospital- or clinic-based, some are hospice-based, and a few are faith-based or independent.The Shooting Star Children’s Hospice/Chase Hospice Care For Children
Camp Erin, created and funded by The Moyer Foundation, is the largest nationwide network of free bereavement camps for children and teens ages 6-17 who have experienced the death of someone close to them
It is a weekend-long experience filled with traditional, fun, camp activities combined with grief education and emotional support—facilitated by grief professionals and trained volunteers.At Camp Erin, children are comforted knowing that there are other children who have experienced similar situations and understand exactly what they are feeling. At Camp Erin, children have an opportunity to address their feelings and memorialize their loved ones. They are provided with the tools and resources needed during and after camp, including memories and friendships that last long after camp is complete.
Palliative Care Network provides a platform for palliative care professionals to teach, interact, and exchange ideas with fellow colleagues in places around the world where the knowledge gap is wider than the technology gap.
The Young Careres Program of Hospice Toronto is an age appropriate, child and youth support program for those who have assumed a significant caregiving role for a sibling or other family member with a chronic or life threatening illness or a physical or developmental disabillity.
IPad Apps for People with Special Needs
This website provides a list of applications for the Iphone which are helpfult to families of children with special needs.
A network of love and support for infant loss.
Wellspring is a network of cancer support centres.
Is a support centre where cancer patients and their families can come and share their experiences, find resources and discover new ways to care for themselves and each other.
Gilda’s Club Greater Toronto is a community of free support where men, women, teens and children with cancer – along with their families and friends – can join with others to build social and emotional support as a supplement to medical care. Gilda’s Club also welcomes long-term cancer survivors and those who have lost someone to cancer.
b.r.a.i.n.child is a group of parents, family, and friends who have the common experience of caring for a child with a brain tumour or who are survivors. We are a volunteer organization providing support, education, and research funding.
Ontario Parent’s Advocating for Children with Cancer (OPACC)
Educates, Advocates, Supports and Enables families of children with cancer. Members of OPACC consist of parents, guardians, survivors or close relatives of a child/teen diagnosed with childhood cancer. OPACC has programs and supports in place to meet the needs of families of children with cancer.