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| Ms. Susan Crowley provided an extensive overview of the work of the Prince Rupert Hospice Society in the community at Monday's Council session |
Prince Rupert City Councillors received a first hand account of the work of the Prince Rupert and District Hospice Society at this week's Council session, as Ms. Susan Crowley provided the council and those viewing from home an update on the work of the society in the community.
As the Director of the Society Ms. Crowley provided a snapshot of the work that they have taken on in the community and put some focus on their efforts for advocacy to move the Hospice Society and end of life care forward.
In her presentation she spoke of their work in Long Term care planning and of the day to day operations that they take on through the Society.
"This year we've had quite a focus on governance making sure we worked hard on our ... quite a robust strategic plan and like most groups in the city, we're just starting to get back to some of our activities that were limited during the pandemic.
We've had some information tables at two community events and our face to face visits with what we call clients are starting to come back, we're starting to move back to that given the restrictions that we had.
Ms. Crowley also noted of the Hospice Society's involvement with the Seniors Centre and the Paramedic Service of BC towards the Green Sleeves campaign, to ensure that emergency responders have vital information, as well as the long term care provisions from the sheets for residents to make note of.
Towards further engagement on that process, she observed that the Society will be expanding their efforts to help residents to complete those forms, hosting workshops at such places as the Seniors Centre or Nisga'a Hall to fill out the forms.
The recruitment of volunteers and new support groups also made for a topic of note for the councillors.
"We continue to train volunteers, to visit people at home, in the hospital, or long term care. Our grief and bereavement support group, it's a nine week group, it's going.
We have a new hospital support group and it was started in the pandemic and it's really growing. People really like the idea of doing FaceTime or a phone call, to have a trained volunteer again talk to them about what they're going through and not have to necessarily go out and face people right away, so that's a big one.
We're always looking for volunteers for any of our programs, so if you have a lot of spare time and you want a little bit of training ... we can do it"
Ms. Crowley also shared notes on the work of the Hospice Alliance, the impact of end of life care on families and how people want to live their final days, as well as to how the advocacy of the Alliance with the province can move the process forward.
"We've witnessed in our own families and friends, the heavy load that's borne by family care givers with little, or no support. And you know from your own work, that there's a large cohort of seniors moving through the health care system towards end of life care. So there's a mounting demand for cost effective care at home and in the community, no surprise to you.
So Hospice Society feels that if we want to avoid a crisis, we have to remove some of the pressure maybe on our already strained health care system and if we want to do that, we're going to have to move the Hospice sector forward.
It's now, end of life care basically is done by fund raising and volunteers, in some of the bigger centres they have a little bit more money, but basically the BC Government has Hospice running beside all the other health care initiative, and Hospice is trying to move it into Health Care"
To those themes, she noted of the challenges being faced locally in funding their operations and how the current funding programs just won't be sustainable moving forward.
The Hospice Society Director did come to Council with a request, though she noted it wasn't for property or for a building; but rather for their help in advocacy for change in how the province of BC views Hospice and end of life care.
"We're advocating that the provincial government actually develop a strategy for dealing with palliative care, which doesn't exist at the moment ... were part of that group that is trying to talk about taking Hospice out of the volunteer sector and really putting it in as part of Health Care and funding it.
So what we want you to do is to you amplify our message anyplace that you can. We're asking the BC government to create more access and secure reliable funding.
And we don't want to build a building on city land, so that's a relief.
We're not going to build anything we just are using the services that we have ... I don't really know how you interface with the BC Government for funding of health care, but if there's any way that you can amplify the need then that's what we're asking of you"
When it came time for Council comments among those who had comments, both Councillor Nick Adey and Councillor Barry Cunningham brought personal experience to the topic and spoke to the importance of the work of the Society in the community.
"I know in my own personal experience with my parents how immensely important it is. And it's important not only as a humane approach to end of life for somebody who is in that situation but its also a tremendous benefit to families because it creates open doors and opportunities for dialogue that family members can benefit a great deal from, because they're going through something as well.
And I think that the Hospice System is really powerful in that it brings those two pieces together. So I'm fully in favour of seeing it become a more institutionalized and better supported part of the Public Health care system and I very much hope that we can add whatever small voice we might have to that movement, I would certainly be in favour of it"-- Councillor Nick Adey
"I mirror everything Councillor Adey said, I've had personal experience through my father in law with the Hospice Society, and it's very gratifying to have you there when the need is there. And it was quite an experience and I really think that you have a place in the hospital and it should be par of Northern Health, part and parcel.
Any way that Council can help, I think that everyone in this room would definitely step up to the plate and help you in any way we can" -- Councillor Barry Cunningham
You can taken in her full presentation to the Council, from the City's Video archive starting at the very beginning of the Monday night session.
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