New hub to make Every Day Count for palliative patients at North Shore Hospice

A $2 million fundraising campaign will turn the North Shore Hospice into a hub for palliative care services. It will be the first hospice of its kind in British Columbia.

The new hub will provide space for the palliative care team to offer quality of life and medical services for patients living at home and their families. The team will be able to serve more patients and connect with them earlier in their end-of-life journey.

Hub will reduce visits to ED

In addition to its existing 15 hospice beds, the hub will include a new Palliative Outpatient Clinic, providing patients with convenient, rapid access to the North Shore Palliative Care Physician Team. This is a much-needed alternative to waiting for an appointment at a busy family practice clinic or visiting the Emergency Department.

The Outpatient Clinic will also provide the capability for the North Shore Palliative Care physician team to extend their reach via video link to “see” patients living on the Sunshine Coast and up the Sea-to-Sky Corridor.

The hub will also feature the Every Day Counts Centre, a permanent home for the Every Day Counts Program, one of the most beneficial and transformative programs available to patients with life-limiting illness on the North Shore. Every Day Counts addresses all aspects of a patient’s quality of life that are not medical and offers one-on-one counselling, yoga, music therapy, relaxation sessions, information about navigating the health care system and more.

“We want to get our arms around patients and their families facing end of life illnesses, and support the people that care for them… their doctors, everybody,” says Dr. Peter Edmunds, VCH-Coastal Regional Medical Director, Home, Community and Palliative Care. “Ideally, we want to have a seamless transition between normal care, hospice care and end-of-life care. It will all be part of the same continuum.”

Dr. Peter Edmunds, Regional Medical Director for Home, Community and Palliative Care, speaks at the announcement for the launch of the fundraising campaign for a new hub at the North Shore Hospice.

Foundation campaign has already raised $1.2 million

The North Shore Hospice & Palliative Project – a partnership of North Shore Hospice Society and Lions Gate Hospital Foundation – has launched the North Shore Hospice Expansion Campaign for the Christmas season and is seeking support from the community to help make every day count for palliative patients and their families. To date, $1.2 million has been raised. Completion of the project is anticipated for December 2017.

“While you may be diagnosed with a life-limiting illness, you still have a lot of living to do, and nobody knows how long that’s going to be, but we want to try to make that time that’s left count and be a positive experience,” says Jo-Ann Wood, chair, North Shore Hospice & Palliative Project.

“Research shows that the majority of people who die could benefit from palliative care,“ says Edmunds. “Non-medical supports, like the ones offered in the Every Day Counts Program, can have a profound impact on a person’s quality of life.”

The palliative care team on the North Shore currently connects with about 800 patients each year. With the aging demographic, the demand is expected to grow and this expansion will help meet the need.

To support the North Shore Hospice Expansion Campaign and ensure patients at the end of life’s journey have everything they need to make the most of each precious moment, visit www.northshorehospicepalliative.com