Palliative Care is currently experiencing a pivotal change in shifting the care of the dying from the acute setting and enhancing or developing a client-centred and interdisciplinary end-of-life service delivery capacity within the community. Improving access, coordination and consistency of services and supports is part of this focus. As part of the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care’s 2004 Health Care Transformation Agenda, End of Life Care Strategy was identified as one of the top priorities.
As a result, fourteen Hospice Palliative Care Networks were created across Ontario to assist the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care in their general goal of achieving comprehensive, consistent and high quality end-of-life care across the province. Some of the system-wide objectives set towards achieving this goal included:
♦ shift care of the dying from the acute setting;
♦ enhance/develop a client-centered and interdisciplinary end-of-life service delivery capacity; and
♦ improve access, coordination and consistency of services and supports.
Other program level objectives set towards achieving this goal included the establishment of interdisciplinary and integrated end-of-life care service delivery models to:
♦ improve access to appropriate services, including pain and symptom management, 24-hour on-call health services, and home care services;
♦ provide a coordinated-point of entry; and
♦ apply technology in innovative ways.
The HNHB HPC Network was formally established in May 2007 and is an amalgamation of the previous Hamilton Hospice Palliative Care Network, the Niagara End-of-Life Care Network and the Grand River End-of-Life Care Network. The Network, which is also inclusive of Burlington, now aligns to the HNHB LHIN boundaries.
At a broad HNHB Network membership meeting held in February 2007, the joint Task Force presented the draft model and Terms of Reference for the new group, which consists of a Council, an Advisory Committee, and 3 Community Committees.
An Interim Advisory Committee was initially elected by the previous Networks, prior to their disbanding, to assume the role of the HNHB HPC Network, and to hold the responsibility for building the new network. The Interim Advisory Committee was comprised of 18 local HPC Champions selected from each of the 4 geographic areas, as well as 8 HNHB knowledge experts in the areas of Service Delivery, Education, Research Evaluation, Advocacy, French Language Services, Aboriginal Services, as well as the HNHB CCAC and the Juravinski Cancer Centre.
Thank you to the Interim Advisory Committee members listed below for their amazing dedication and involvement. It is through their hard work that the Network has achieved this tremendous progress to date.
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Sue Bolibruck
Liz Bonney
Janie Bowles-Jordan
Kevin Brazil
Angela Brewer
Barb Clendenning
Beth Ellis
Janie Fraser
Trish Fritzpatrick
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Camilla Galezowski
Liz Hawthorne
Denise Marshall
Carol McKenna
Jim Miller
Lori Monture
Cheryl Moore
Janet Noble
Diane Reid
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Mary Catherine Rilett
Sharon Russell
Sandy Street
Alan Taniguchi
Ildi Tettero
Connie Wightman
Jan Wright
Micheline Wylde
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The new Permanent Advisory Committee and 3 new Community Committees (Hamilton/Burlington, Haldimand Norfolk Brant and Niagara) were introduced at the 1st Annual Membership Meeting, November 13, 2007.