About 200 very interested people attended the Palliative Care Community Forum on Sat. March 5th at Port Dover Community Centre, and listened intently to the highly acclaimed Keynote Speaker, Dr. Denise Marshall, and the 5 panelist speakers. 
 
To view the PowerPoint slides used by 3 of the 6 speakers, please scroll down to the "DOWNLOAD FILES" link lower on this page, in the right-hand frame.
 
Read further for a brief overview of the speaker messages.
 
 
Dr. Marshall spoke about the need for community to be an integral part of the palliative care system within a geographical region.  She identified the "Compassionate Communities" model of care that is currently considered good practice in several countries and is now gaining traction in some Canada communities. Dr. Marshall spoke to the need for the various health care providers who serve palliative patients and their families to join forces and serve their clients with an integrated continuum of care that allows palliative patients to select the form of care that best suits their needs, and allows patients to move seamlessly through the palliative care range of services.
 
Lora VanBerlo, Nurse Practitioner with the Palliative Care Team of the Community Care Access Centre in Haldimand and Norfolk, addressed the collaboration that exists between the various service providers in order to assist palliative patients and their families to select the type and location of care desired. The CCAC has a community-based palliative care team that provides care in people's homes.
 
Kim Mullins, a Nurse Manager wth Norfolk General Hospital, described how their 3 specialized care rooms operate to provide special care to palliative patients and their families.
 
Dr. Robin Martin-Godelie described her role as a family physician and Chief of Long Term Care and Palliative Care at Norfolk General Hospital. Dr. Martin-Godelie spends one day each week on the road visiting palliative patients in Haldimand and Norfolk in their homes as the physician member of the Community Outreach Team supported by Stedman Hospice. 
 
Cheryl Moore, Executive Director of Stedman Hospice in Brantford, described the work of Stedman Hospice's Community Outreach Team in Haldimand and Norfolk.  The team includes a bereavement counsellor and a palliative care nurse specialist who accompany Dr. Matrin-Godelie visiting palliative clients in Haldimand and Norfolk. Stedman Hospice provides 24/7 support to palliative patients and their families and to medical professional caregivers.  
 
Dr. Jennifer Everson represented the Local Health Integrated Network (LHIN) of Hamilton Niagara Haldimand Brant, the organization responsible for allocating funds on behalf of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care.  Dr. Everson came to listen to the local health professionals and to the members of the audience.  The LHIN is eager to assist in enhancing the palliative care system in our community, but cautioned that the various organizations who are funded to provide palliative cares services are expected to collaborate to find ways to enhance services without additional funding.
 
The audience submitted many questions for the moderated panel discussion.  The path forward to enhance palliative care in our community involves empowering patients to select the type and level of care, and also begs for the community to accept a lead role to develop an integrated palliative care system at the Haldimand and Norfolk community level. It was clear throughout the day that we have all the pieces and the dedicated and passionate care providers in place to create a "Compassionate Community,"  The system and community can benefit, however, by working more closely together.  
 
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