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Hospice Uses Community Feedback to Expand Services


Following a highly successful community engagement campaign, Hospice Georgian Triangle and Saint Elizabeth Health Care are thanking local residents for their feedback, and working together to design new services that will help more people.

“The campaign really got people talking about the future of hospice care in our community,” said Hospice Georgian Triangle Executive Director Kelly Borg. “The survey results provide us with a clear roadmap to the kinds of services people want and need, right from the time of diagnosis.”

There are many ways the team at Hospice Georgian Triangle can support people who are sick but not dying – for example, those living with chronic conditions such as cancer or heart disease. However, community feedback suggests there is both confusion and distaste for the terms ‘hospice’ and ‘palliative care’ and that these terms should be avoided when speaking about and making these kinds of support services available.

“Another key insight we discovered from the survey is that people and healthcare providers have different perspectives on what they believe is needed most following a life-limiting diagnosis,” said Dr. Paul Holyoke, director of Saint Elizabeth’s Research Centre. “Healthcare providers see emotional support and counselling as the greatest needs, while members of the general community are concerned about practical help and unbiased, honest information about the disease journey and what they should expect.”

The Hospice Georgian Triangle Navigator Program is one such example of that “practical help”. The Navigator is a specially trained volunteer who connects with each individual personally, ideally soon after diagnosis, and then accompanies the individual on their disease journey; providing support, advocacy, information and resources along the way.

Building on the learning and success of the It Won’t Kill You To Talk With Us™ campaign in the Georgian Triangle community – the first in Canada - Saint Elizabeth will replicate the campaign in the Niagara Region this fall.
 


About Hospice Georgian Triangle

Hospice Georgian Triangle, a registered charity, provides trained volunteer and professional care and support to individuals living with life-threatening illness or in their last stages of living, to their families and to the bereaved. The staff and volunteers at Hospice Georgian Triangle provide this exceptional care in both the Campbell House residence and in private homes and communities across the Georgian Triangle region.
hospicegeorgiantriangle.com

About Saint Elizabeth

Saint Elizabeth is a national social enterprise providing home care, health solutions and education to people where they are and when they need it. With Canadian roots and more than 100 years of expertise, the not-for-profit charitable organization is accelerating health care innovation to support healthy lives globally. Through its team of 9,000 health leaders, Saint Elizabeth delivers 20,000 care exchanges daily, totalling 50 million in the last decade alone. Learn more at saintelizabeth.com or find us on social media.

Media Contacts:

Janet Fairbridge
Hospice Georgian Triangle
fairbridgej@hospicegeorgiantriangle.com
705-444-2555 ext. 7521

Madonna Gallo
Saint Elizabeth
mgallo@saintelizabeth.com
905-940-9655 ext. 146430