The Government of Canada Wants to Hear from You
An online questionnaire gives Canadians the chance to share their views on MAID with the Government of Canada. Online consultations on eligibility criteria and the request process are open until Jan 27. Make time in the next two weeks to have your say.
Please Tell Us Your Story
Did you take time off work to care for a terminally ill friend or family member?
AHPCA is seeking stories of financial, physical and mental hardship you may have experienced after your Compassionate Care Leave benefits ended upon the death of your loved one. If you did not receive any benefits, we are still interested in hearing what hardships you may have experienced during and after your caregiving.
AHPCA is advocating to extend Compassionate Care benefits for a few weeks past the death of a loved one. This will allow caregivers time to heal and help them take care of the practical necessities following a death, without experiencing economic hardship. Under current legislation, benefits end quite soon after the death.
Your stories will help us make an argument to expand this benefit.
Thank you in advance for your willingness to share your stories with us. We will treat them with care and dignity. If we think we could use your story to help with our advocacy work, we will contact you for further discussion.
If you have a story to share, please send it to communications@ahpca.ca as soon as possible.
Recipient of the 2019 Dr. Donna Wilson Caregiver Award
AHPCA is proud to facilitate the Dr. Donna Wilson Caregiver Award, which recognizes the vital importance of informal palliative caregivers across Alberta.
This year, we are delighted to introduce the 2019 Dr. Donna Wilson Caregiver Award recipient, Joyce Skopik.
Take a moment to read Joyce’s story and consider the informal, unpaid palliative caregivers you know. Mark your calendars for September 2020, when AHPCA will once again be accepting nominations!
AHPCA's Imagine 2019 Conference a Sunny Success
Recently, AHPCA brought together over 40 representatives from 20 hospice palliative care groups from across Alberta at the Imagine 2019 conference. This annual event is a chance for groups to network and learn, and strengthen Alberta’s hospice palliative care community in doing so.
After facing two years of November blizzards and frightening road conditions, we are pleased to report that moving the event into October meant clear roads and even sunshine for participants.
Read all about what happened at Imagine 2019!
Does Your Hospice Society want to Participate in the Nav-CARE Program?
The Nav-CARE Program (Navigation – Connecting, Accessing, Resourcing and Engaging) builds upon years of collaborative work with community, provincial, and national knowledge partners in the area of upstream palliative care.
The overall goal of the Nav-CARE program is to improve the quality of life of seniors living at home. With Nav-CARE, specially trained volunteer navigators conduct regular visits with clients in the home. Nav-CARE volunteers work with seniors to improve their quality of life. These are the things that seniors identify that would “make their life more liveable.” They are often the little things in life that make a big difference.
Nav-CARE is truly a community-based program with 18 sites currently implementing across Canada. It was designed to be implemented in any community no matter how big or small or how rural or urban. There are, however, two key ingredients required for any community interested in setting up a Nav-CARE program. These are:
Resources (e.g., dedicated time for community engagement, leading, planning and implementing the program, experienced volunteers, etc.)
Linkages to local social and health networks (e.g., community stakeholders, social services, physicians, primary care nurses, etc.)
Included in your participation in the program is validated evaluation measures and processes. The research team is responsible for identifying important time points for evaluation and for aggregating and analyzing evaluation data. The organization is responsible for providing the evaluation tools to clients and family at the time designated by the research team and for returning those tools in the self-addressed envelopes provided.
If you are interested in learning more about becoming a Nav-CARE implementation site please contact either:
Barb Pesut PhD, RN, School of Nursing, University of British Columbia
barb.pesut@ubc.ca or 250-807-9955
Wendy Duggleby PhD, RN, Faculty of Nursing, University of Alberta
wendy.duggleby@ualberta.ca or 780-492-8660
AHPCA Self-Care Video Series
AHPCA invites you to share these videos with your clients, friends, colleagues or family who might benefit.
These short videos are a resource for people who need answers but do not have easy access to help.
Topics:
Vicarious Trauma – What is it?
Vicarious Trauma – Dealing with it
Vicarious Trauma – Seek support
Compassion Fatigue – What is it?
Rituals & Grief – No rules
Personal Rituals
Self Care Moment – Colouring
Self Care Moment – Grounding
Using relaxation and stress reduction exercises are an excellent way to feel better in the moment. Many of us have anxiety and that feeling intensifies when we are in distress. Relaxing changes that response. The body and mind are closely linked; relaxing the body relaxes the mind.
Take a few minutes to escape on a mental vacation. Breathe deeply and choose a Relaxation Moment (length of video is in brackets).
Topics:
Introduction to Relaxation Moments
Relaxation Moment Morning at Hauula, Oahu (1:33)
Relaxation Moment: A Stroll Along Waikiki Beach (3:45)
Relaxation Moment: Fountains of Waikiki (2:52)
Relaxation Moment: North Shore Waves on Oahu (2:26)
Relaxation Moment: Streams at Waimea Park (2:57)
Relaxation Moment: Waikiki Waves (2:50)
Relaxation Moment: Sunset at Ala Moana (10:43)
Online Resource Directory
Services vary across the province and we have found that many Albertans feel isolated and uninformed during this very vulnerable time of their lives. Albertans have told us that they want an accessible user friendly online Resource Directory specializing in palliative and end of life care services throughout Alberta.
AHPCA has received a grant from the Eldon and Anne Foote Fund at Edmonton Community Foundation to research, develop and host this online palliative directory data base. It incorporates a province wide data base with an easy to use interactive map.
Membership
The Alberta Hospice Palliative Care Association (AHPCA) endeavours to represent the voice of the palliative care consumers, professionals and volunteers in Alberta. We believe that all Albertans have the right to equitable access to end of life care, and we promote participation through the building of partnerships, collaboration and innovation.
Your membership in the AHPCA automatically entitles you to membership with the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA).
As a joint member you will receive: palliative care news, AHPCA updates, CHPCA newsletters, reduced conference and workshop rates, and an opportunity to add your voice to our advocacy efforts on behalf of all Albertans.
