The AHPCA Palliative Care Rural Roadshows

Edson      Camrose        Fort McMurray   Grand Prairie    Lethbridge   Peace River  Red Deer       Rimbey       Whitecourt

Smaller cities and towns in rural Alberta have unique end-of-life needs and often feel left out when it comes to specialized education and awareness programs in their own communities. In response to this gap in services the AHPCA has created an annual Roadshow especially for rural Albertans.

Our goal is to provide small town Albertans with quality educational and community building opportunities – for people living with a life threatening illness, their families, volunteer caregivers, and local service providers. These workshops have taken place from Fort McMurray to Lethbridge and focus on teaching and building awareness about hospice and palliative care.

In 2010 our theme was ‘We’re All in This Together’: These community development workshops presented opportunities for local folks to share concerns about life altering illnesses and to develop home grown strategies to improve palliative care in their areas.  They were instrumental in providing opportunities for rural patients, families and volunteers to work together with health care professionals to identify gaps and suggest solutions.

In 2011 our theme was ‘This Thing Called Grief: How we can help’: Grief is a universal response to the loss of a loved one, so these workshops were open to everyone who wanted to learn more about bereavement, including lay people, families, volunteers, informal caregivers, and health care workers. They provided opportunities for individuals to develop new skills to help support grieving friends, families, patients and others in their local communities.

These workshops have inspired new beginnings in small towns and cities throughout Alberta.

Here are some comments from participants:

• ‘It was a great way to meet other people in my own town who share my passion for developing good end-of-life care in our community.’     A Volunteer 

• ‘You really instilled hope in me today – which is not an easy thing to do.’     A Bereaved Community Member              

•  ‘The Road Show was a very positive introduction to everyone that cares about, and is trying to make a difference in palliative care. From this event, we’ve formed a Palliative Coalition in an effort to create a greater, organized presence for palliative care services in our community.’     A Social Worker

• ‘Great in depth teaching of grief. Being aware of the many faces of grief has better equipped me to help my patients.’  A Home Care Nurse                                                                       

• ‘I learned to listen, to be okay with silence, not to judge, and not to be afraid to reach out.’    A Friend

We’re planning the Rural Roadshows for 2012. If you have some ideas or would like to be involved please email us at ahpca@telus.net or visit our Contact Page. Together we can make a difference!