April 16th is Advance Care Planning Day in Canada

Planning for future healthcare needs is important.

• Who would you trust to make healthcare decisions?

• Do you know what would happen if you couldn’t communicate for yourself?

• Who would you trust to make those healthcare decisions on your behalf? 

Think about: 

• Who you would trust with making important decisions for you. 

• What matters most in your life and how that might help guide healthcare decisions you would want.  

Consider: 

• Do you know what would happen if you couldn’t decide for yourself?

• Who do you trust to make healthcare decisions that respect your wishes?

• Would that person (or people) be able to make important decisions about your health in an emergency?

• Have you spoken to anyone about what matters most in your life?

• What gives you strength in difficult times? 

• Are spiritual, cultural or religious beliefs, practices, or ceremonies are important to you?

The best time to think about this is NOW (in advance of a medical crisis), while you can make decisions and communicate for yourself. You have the power to choose who that person is. They can be a family member, a friend, or anyone in your life that you trust to make the kinds of healthcare decisions you would want. 

Ask yourself: If not you, who? 

Source: Advance Care Planning Canada

It is never too early, but it can be too late!

To learn more about Advance Care Planning in 5 Steps, visit Advance Care Planning Canada to access helpful free toolkits and guides to help you along the way. 

Today is World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (#WHPCDay23)

Today is World Hospice and Palliative Care Day (#WHPCDay23).

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is an annual unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world.

WHPCD has been marked every year on Saturday October 14th to advocate for better hospice and palliative care services around the world. The WHPCD theme for 2023 is Compassionate Communities.

Together for Palliative Care Compassionate Communities care for people, assist people to live in the place they call home, connect people to services, and raise #awareness about end-of-life issues.

We believe that palliative care working alongside compassionate communities multiplies the ability to respond to the needs of the most #vulnerable in our communities.

For more information, please visit The Worldwide Hospice Palliative Care Alliance (WHPCA)

Today is National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day in Canada

October 12th, 2023 marks National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day in Canada. The campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of pediatric hospice palliative care and improve the quality of living and dying for infants, children and youth with life-threatening conditions and their families. National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day is held on the second Thursday of October annually.

In the delicate tapestry of a child’s life, every thread counts. National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day celebrates the art of “Weaving the Fabric of Care,” applauding the dedication, compassion, and advocacy of those caring for children with serious illnesses.

This day is a call to action, a chance to embrace the essential threads of care that comfort and support families navigating a child’s serious illness when they need it most. It’s about recognizing that children’s hospice palliative care is not just a specialty; it’s a shared responsibility across healthcare and communities.

We invite you to join this heartfelt movement. It’s a journey of awareness, empowerment, and care. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of youth and their loved ones through a holistic and family-centered approach to care.

Become an advocate – for each child, for every family. Discover the world of children’s hospice palliative care and equip yourself with the knowledge to identify those who would benefit most from its supportive embrace. You can be the voice that echoes through the corridors of healthcare, championing this approach to care, and the professionals of all stripes that provide it.

“Weaving the Fabric of Care” is not just a slogan; it’s a promise. A promise that anyone can integrate a palliative approach into every facet of their care. A promise that we can improve the quality of life of a seriously ill child and their family together through this approach, whether you are a nurse, allied health professional, social worker, or even a volunteer.

Let us unite our hearts, weave our stories, and together, create a quilt of care that enfolds every child in warmth, comfort, and dignity. Join us on this journey, as we weave the fabric of care, one thread at a time.

Source: The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association
For more information, please visit The Canadian Network Of Palliative Care For Children

Palliative Care In-Depth Online Workshop

As faculty at McMaster University and a certified LEAP™ facilitator, I am again honoured to join my colleagues from the Division of Palliative Care at McMaster University to facilitate the Palliative Care In-Depth Online Workshop combining the curriculum of Pallium Canada’s LEAP™ In-Depth with McMaster University 3 Days in Palliative Care.

This is a unique opportunity for healthcare professionals to continue learning about the palliative care approach and focus on different disease conditions and topics. The session schedule is designed to allow for national participation and clinical commitments.

This workshop has been developed for online delivery in partnership between Pallium and the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University. Sessions are facilitated by McMaster University faculty who are LEAP™ certified facilitators and experienced palliative care clinicians and educators.

TOPICS COVERED INCLUDE:
• Recap of the palliative care approach
• Unique situations
• Transitions in long-term care
• Heart diseases and advanced liver
• In-depth communication
• Renal and neurological diseases

Please contact support@pallium.ca with any questions about the course, or to register.
Want to learn more about Pallium Canada or LEAP™? Visit pallium.ca

Demystifying Grief and Honouring Loss: Exploring Healing While Caring for Others and Ourselves

I am incredibly honoured to deliver Virtual Palliative Care Grand Rounds, “Demystifying Grief and Honouring Loss: Exploring Healing While Caring for Others and Ourselves” at University Hospitals, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine.

In healthcare we move through an array of experiences, navigating acute emergencies, illness, death and a myriad of non-death losses, for ourselves, for all we love, and all we serve.

What about experiences that cannot be cured or fixed? As Dr. Kenneth Doka states, “Grief is a reaction to loss. We often confuse it as a reaction to death. It’s really just a very natural reaction to loss. When we lose any significant form of attachment, it’s the process of adjusting”.

There is no closure or “getting over” loss, nor are there finite timelines in grief.

We continue to grieve someone (or something) after loss and the cumulative effects and secondary losses that follow. Grieving the loss means learning to move forward, integrate, and metabolize the loss(es), while honouring the connection in meaningful and supportive ways.

In the face of trauma, loss and uncertainty, it can feel overwhelming to consider moving forward. Tedeschi & Calhoun highlight the importance (and benefit) of Post-Traumatic Growth, specifically:

• Traumatic events are not viewed as desirable

• Stories of others moving through trauma are always important in post-traumatic growth

• Strength is often correlated almost paradoxically, following an increased sense of being vulnerable

In Kitchen Table Wisdom, Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen writes, “The expectation that we can be immersed in suffering and loss daily and not be touched by it is as unrealistic as expecting to be able to walk through water without getting wet.”

There is healing power in connecting with the voices and stories of others. I am grateful to share a space to honour healing in healthcare, in the face of grief, loss, connection and community.

Undergraduate Medical Education: From White Coat to Blue Gown

I was incredibly honoured to once again facilitate this annual lecture in memory of Dr. Barbara Tatham at the Michael G. DeGroote School of Medicine at McMaster University.

Barbara was a medical student at McMaster University and went on to become an innovative Family and Emergency Room Physician and collaborative Medical Educator. After enduring a courageous battle with cancer, at the age of 32, Barbara died on October 16, 2019, a few short weeks after delivering her final extraordinary undergraduate medical education lecture, Barbara left us with her last lecture, a precious legacy, recorded at McMaster, selflessly demonstrating her indomitable spirit and compassion.

We have been fortunate to maintain contact with Barbara’s family since 2019. Their hope is that medical students while remembering Barbara’s empathy, will consider their own humanity as they go on to care for patients, families and themselves.

FREE Death Café on Wednesday June 28th at McMaster University

I am honoured to facilitate this FREE Death Café on Wednesday June 28th (6-8pm) at the David Braley Health Sciences Centre, McMaster University on behalf of The 100% Certainty Project. Death: Something to Talk About.

We will highlight the articles, “You May Want to Marry My Husband” (written by Amy Krouse Rosenthal, 2017) and “My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me” (written by Jason B. Rosenthal, 2018), alongside the 2018 TED Talk “The journey through loss and Grief” and 2020 book, “My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me” by Jason, (named one of time’s best new books). 

This event is featuring “My Wife Said You May Want to Marry Me”, an extraordinary 2023 book selection for The 100% Certainty Project. Death: Something to Talk About. The book “is an inspiring memoir of life, love, loss, and new beginnings by the widower of bestselling children’s author and filmmaker Amy Krouse Rosenthal, whose last of act of love before her death was setting the stage for her husband’s life without her in a column in the New York Times.” Source: https://www.jasonbrosenthal.com/books 

Registration is required for this FREE Death Café on Wednesday June 28th (6-8pm) via Eventbrite at: https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/death-cafe-tickets-657227203257?utm_source=eventbrite&utm_medium=email&utm_content=follow_notification&utm_campaign=following_published_event&utm_term=Death+Cafe&aff=ebemoffollowpublishemail 

Please note: Death Café is an international movement where people, often strangers, gather to eat, drink tea and discuss death. The objective is 'to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives’.

At Death Café, you can expect a group directed discussion of death with no agenda, objectives or themes. It is a discussion group. Please note that Death Café is NOT a grief support group, nor is this a grief counselling session. 

Death Café is a respectful, public event where people of all communities and belief systems are welcome to have discussions about death. Interesting conversation is guaranteed! For more information, please visit Death Café. https://deathcafe.com/

It is National Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada

The first full week of May marks National Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada. Palliative care is person-centered care. That means, in part, that wherever there is a person with a life-limiting illness, palliative care can be provided. If someone is facing significant health-related suffering because of a life-limiting illness, palliative care can help regardless of the setting of care, regardless of a person’s illness or prognosis, regardless of their postal code. Palliative care is an approach that aims to alleviate the suffering of people facing a life-limiting illness. It can be provided in any setting – from hospice, to long-term care, to hospital, to home.

While access to palliative care has improved over recent years, the latest data shows that only 58% of Canadians who died in 2021-2022 received palliative care, usually in a hospital. The “Palliative Care Everywhere” campaign highlights that there are no limits on where a palliative approach to care can be provided and reminds us that wherever people face life-limiting illnesses, end-of-life, and grief, there must also be a place for palliative care.

"This week, we celebrate the indispensable and compassionate care provided by health care workers, volunteers, unpaid caregivers and many others across Canada. The impact of palliative care on a person’s quality of life and on their family is profoundly meaningful, and every person with a life-limiting illness deserves to receive this level of care," said Laurel Gillespie, CEO of CHPCA. “Sadly, less than 60% of Canadians who died last year received care from the discipline that specializes, in part, in caring for the dying. It is time for everyone in Canada to come together to build a future where ‘Palliative Care Everywhere’ is true in every postal code.” Source: CHPCA

FREE National Community-Based Primary Palliative Care Community of Practice (CoP)

I am honoured to be co-presenting “Practical Tips: Lessons from the Front Line”, the final session in the National Community-Based Primary Palliative Care Community of Practice (CoP) series. This Continuing Professional Development is FREE for all health care professionals is part of The Palliative Care ECHO Project led by Pallium Canada.

This community of practice focuses on supporting primary care clinicians to integrate primary palliative care in their practices. It is geared towards interprofessional primary health care providers across Canada. Each session is accredited by the College of Family Physicians of Canada.

This is the final session in the second series, which includes 11 sessions taking place on a bi-weekly basis. All webinars are recorded and available for playback. Topics include:

Pain: Beyond the Basics: November 9, 2022

Communication: Part 1: November 23, 2022

Communication: Part 2: December 7, 2022

Palliative Care and Substance Use Disorders: January 18, 2023

GI Symptoms in Palliative Care: February 1, 2023

Delirium: February 15, 2023

Spiritual Care and Rituals Around Death and Dying: March 1, 2023

Palliative Sedation: March 15, 2023

Grief and Bereavement: Beyond the Basics: April 12, 2023

Practical Tips: Lessons from the Front Line: April 26, 2023 from 1–2:00 p.m. ET
 
Interested in becoming a part of this FREE COP? Visit The Palliative Care ECHO Project

April 16th is National Advance Care Planning Day in Canada.

It’s about conversations. It’s about wishes. It’s how we care for each other.

Advance Care Planning is about having conversations with family and friends, especially your Substitute Decision Maker – the person who will speak for you if you cannot speak for yourself in case of a health emergency. It may also include writing down your wishes, and talking with healthcare providers and financial or legal professionals.

Advance care planning is a process of reflection and communication, a time for you to reflect on your values and wishes, and to let others know your future health and personal care preferences in the event that you are unable to consent or refuse treatment or other care.

1. Think about what is most important to you – your values, wishes and beliefs.

2. Learn about your overall health. This may include current conditions you want to better understand.

3. Decide on your Substitute Decision Maker(s), one or more people who are willing and able to speak, for you if you cannot speak for yourself.

4. Talk about your values, beliefs and wishes with your Substitute Decision Maker(s), family, friends and health care providers.

5. Record your values, wishes and beliefs in your Advance Care Planning Guide, in a letter, poem, video or audio recording.

Source: Advance Care Planning Canada

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES:

For more information on advanced illness, advance care planning, palliative care, end-of-life care and grief, please visit: 

Canadian Virtual Hospice www.virtualhospice.ca 

Living My Culture www.livingmyculture.ca 

Advance Care Planning Canada values a free, accessible and open shared knowledge amongst the community. The website provides you with all the necessary tools to inform yourself on the most recent advanced care planning updates and developments. For more information and FREE resources, visit: https://www.advancecareplanning.ca/

C. Elizabeth Dougherty Consulting Newsletter: Fall 2022

I am pleased to share my Fall 2022 Newsletter highlighting educational opportunities and my clinical work serving individuals, families, and healthcare providers facing complex illnesses, uncertainty and grief.

C. Elizabeth Dougherty Consulting Spring Newsletter

Loss in the Time of COVID: Exploring the Impact of Grief

Honoured to deliver Loss in the Time of COVID: Exploring the Impact of Grief as the Keynote address at Trillium Health Partners in support of National Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada.

My sincere gratitude to everyone who joined our discussion via Zoom, for sharing time, reflections and energy - and for acknowledging the impact of trauma, loss and grief for healthcare providers as we continue to serve so many facing trauma, loss and grief during the pandemic.

Exploring the Role of Social Work in Palliative Care

So grateful to speak with my friends and colleagues Drs. Hsien Seow and Sammy Winemaker on their podcast The Waiting Room Revolution.

We explored the role of Social Work in Palliative Care, the value of proactive and compassionate person and family-centred support following diagnosis of any serious illness, exploring loss and grief through to end-of-life and bereavement, creating space for essential conversations, and the healing power of silence.

Follow their podcast for essential tips and tools to navigate the healthcare system following diagnosis of a serious illness. To listen to our conversation, click here

C. Elizabeth Dougherty Consulting - Winter 2022 Newsletter

I am honoured to share my winter 2022 newsletter with free resources for individuals and families of all ages facing a complex illness, following diagnosis through to bereavement.

I am also grateful to also share teaching experiences including: undergraduate and graduate Social Work Education; undergraduate interdisciplinary education; and Interprofessional Education for healthcare providers and volunteers exploring informed conversations, honouring person and family-centred care, demystifying grief, and advocating for high-quality palliative care.

C. Elizabeth Dougherty Consulting - Fall 2021 Newsletter

I am honoured to share my Fall 2021 newsletter including resources for individuals and families of all ages facing a complex illness, following diagnosis through to bereavement. I am also grateful to also share my teaching experiences including: undergraduate and graduate Social Work Education; undergraduate Medical Education; and Interprofessional Education for healthcare providers exploring informed conversations, honouring person and family-centred care, demystifying grief, and advocating for palliative care.

Myths about Palliative Care

It is so important to demystify the incredible scope and breadth of Palliative and end of life Care. For National Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada (May 2nd- 8th), I am re-posting a great resource from CVH - an incredible source of evidence-informed Hospice Palliative Care resources for individuals, families, healthcare providers or volunteers serving anyone facing life-limiting illness, grief and bereavement. 

An infographic about 10 myths that are often encountered in Palliative Care (also available in French, Arabic, Brazilian Portuguese, Catalan, Chinese, Cree, Hebrew, Inuinnaqtun, Japanese, Portuguese, Spanish and Tagalog).

Source: Canadian Virtual Hospice

Demystifying Hospice Palliative Care is essential!

National Hospice Palliative Care Week in Canada is May 2nd-8th, 2021.

Proactive and equitable access to Hospice Palliative Care is not standard, with barriers (including a lack of education, funding and research) contributing to the myths that impact delivering high-quality person and family-centred collaborative care. Integrated support for loss, grief and bereavement is lacking.

Did you know....

-Between 62% and 89% of those who die could benefit from palliative care, including nearly everyone who does not die unexpectedly

- 51% of the children who died in 2012 only received Paediatric Palliative Care for the last 30 days of their lives

-62% of Canadians who received palliative care did so in an acute care hospital in their last month of life

-Few Canadians (15%) have early access to palliative care in the community

-80% of the time, palliative care was provided during admission was unplanned or through an emergency department  

-Canadians between the ages of 45 and 74 are more likely than younger adults and older seniors to receive palliative care

-There are ~88 residential hospices and the majority require a prognosis of <3 months to be admitted

Source: CHPCA Fact Sheet 2021 

For more information, please visit the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association

How Equity-Oriented is Palliative Care?

Join us for the free (online) Elizabeth J. Latimer Lecture in Palliative Care "How Equity-Oriented is Palliative Care" with the extraordinary Dr. Kelli Stajduhar.

The 17th Annual Innovations in Palliative Care Virtual Conference

Join us for the (online) 17th Annual Innovations in Palliative Care Virtual Conference, a collaboration between the Division of Palliative Care, Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University and Pallium Canada