eNews: Spotlight on losing a parent

ENEWS -- November 2012

SPOTLIGHT ON
LOSING A PARENT
Losing a parent is difficult at any age. In this month’s eNews we highlight resources to help people live with the death of a parent and we offer tools for those supporting them.

CFL HALL OF FAMER REFLECTS ON HIS FATHER'S DEATH

Milt Stegall, the CFL's all-time touchdown leader, lost his father while he was still a teen. In this video, Milt talks movingly about what the loss taught him about dying, grief and a life's legacy.

(6:04)

For Everyone
SUPPORT AFTER THE LOSS OF A PARENT

Healing the Adult Child's Grieving Heart: 100 Practical Ideas After Your Parent Dies - Alan Wolfelt offers simple advice and realistic suggestions for adults grieving their parents.
Turning Grief into Gratitude: Reflections and Recommendations on Mourning and Condolence - This book by rabbi, psychologist and counsellor Rabbi Dr. Reuven P. Bulka offers guidance based on his experience of grief for his parents.
Take Care – A son shares his experience of visiting with his mother in hospice during her final days.
Nanaimo Hospice Society provides online collections of grief resources for children and teens.
Living Dying: A Guide for Adults Supporting Grieving Children and Teenagers – This handbook from the Max and Beatrice Wolfe Children’s Centre provides guidance for parents supporting grieving young people.
Children's grief reactions and tips for supporting them (9:33) - In this video, Betty Davies RN, PhD shares tips from a career working with families at end of life.
Virtual Hospice Discussion Forum members show one another overwhelming support. Here’s what community members are talking about now:
- My Dad always played Santa.... what do I tell my kids? started by lilbear
- Mom - opting out of treatment started by TrueHeart
- Missing my mom started by Tanya99

For Professionals
TOOLS TO SUPPORT THE GRIEVING

The Dying Parent & Their Child: Strategies for Professional Leadership When Everyone is 'Lost' - Andrea Warnick, RN, BScN, MA, and Grief Counsellor with the Max and Beatrice Wolfe Children’s Centre, summarizes key information for health care providers.
Bereavement Risk Assessment Tool (BRAT) - This tool from the Victoria Hospice Society helps a health care team identify people who are likely to have more difficulty living with loss.

For Everyone
ASKED AND ANSWERED

How do we help our adult children feel comfortable with their dying father and his right to die with dignity? Read our answer.
How can I help my mother prepare for death? Read our answer.
I would like to speak at my father’s funeral, but I don’t know what I should say and whether I can do so without breaking down? How do I prepare for this? Read our answer.

NEWS

CONGRATULATIONS QUEEN ELIZABETH DIAMOND JUBILEE MEDAL RECIPIENTS!

Palliative care leaders from across the country were honoured for their outstanding commitment to palliative care. Four members of the Virtual Hospice team received Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medals:

Shelly Cory, Executive Director - from the Canadian Home Care Association (CHCA) and Canadian Caregiver Coalition.
Dr. Mike Harlos clinical team lead - from Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA).
Dr. Corelius Woelk palliative physician - from Candace Bergen, Member of Parliament.
Fred Nelson psychosocial consultant – from CHPCA.

See the full list of recipients nominated by the CHPCA and the CHCA. Recipient Dr. Gerri Frager is featured in a new profile on Take a Bow.

HISTORIC PLENARY ON WHOLE PERSON CARE

Dr. Balfour Mount, father of palliative care in Canada, delivered a ground-breaking plenary address on whole person care at the 2012 International Congress on Palliative Care in Montreal. Following his speech, he indicated to Dr. Mike Harlos that “Virtual Hospice is one of the best things ever created.” A film based on of Dr. Mount’s plenary, Whole Person Care & the Need for a Paradigm Shift in Health Care, is now available for purchase on DVD.

NEW REPORT ON THE FINANCIAL SIDE OF CANCER

The Canadian Cancer Action Network and Canadian Cancer Society have released their report on the financial challenges that often accompany a cancer diagnosis. Financial Hardship of Cancer in Canada: A Call for Action, summarizes the three-year study, and the action plan proposed to alleviate the financial burden that people living with cancer face.

THE CUBA PROJECT

A committed team of palliative care specialists has travelled to Cuba since 2004 to train health professionals and volunteers on how to accompany people at end of life. Read more about their work and the difference they are making.

NEW RESEARCH - PALLIATIVE CARE REFERRALS COME LATER THAN IDEAL

A new study led by Dr. Camilla Zimmerman of Princess Margaret Hospital, funded by the Canadian Cancer Society, shows that many oncologists refer patients to palliative care late in the course of illness, despite consensus among palliative care professionals that early referral is better.

INVITATION TO EXPLORE INTEGRATED END-OF-LIFE CARE

The Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada is inviting stakeholders to help in developing an integrated end-of-life care model. The national initiative, The Way Forward, offers the first two of several documents to support discussion of blending palliative care with community-based health care: The Palliative Approach, and a synthesis of recommendations from national reports.

HPCO CALLS FOR COORDINATED PALLIATIVE CARE

Representatives of Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO) met with provincial members of parliament in Queen’s Park politicians last month to emphasize the need for quality hospice and palliative care across Ontario and in all care settings. Rick Firth, Executive Director of HPCO, describes the HPCO call to action.

PROGRAMS AND SERVICES UPDATE

Virtual Hospice’s Programs and Services is a database that connects Canadians across the country with palliative care and grief support services where they live. The Virtual Hospice team regularly reviews the listings, and has just completed a comprehensive assessment. It has updated existing services and added new ones. Programs and Services now lists 716 resources.

HONOURING POLITICIANS DEDICATED TO PALLIATIVE CARE

On November 21, the Quality End-of-Life Care Coalition of Canada (QELCCC)and federal politicians will honour a parliamentary committee working to improve end-of-life care. The QELCCC is also raising awareness of its 10-year plan to encourage progress on end-of-life issues.

PALLIATIVE CARE SPECIALIST NEEDED

The Canadian Partnership Against Cancer is seeking a palliative care specialist for a full-time position in its Toronto office. Learn more.

NEW IN ABORIGINAL END-OF-LIFE CARE

View the updated version of Completing the Circle: End of Life Care with Aboriginal Families by First Nations University. Elders share their beliefs and traditions surrounding end of life.

BRINGING THE SOCIAL MEDIA #REVOLUTION TO HEALTH CARE

This new book from the Mayo Clinic Center for Social Media invites health practitioners, patients and caregivers to engage with one another to promote health and wellness. Virtual Hospice team member Colleen Young wrote the chapter “Twitter Chats Build Community.”

CALENDAR

Family Medicine Forum

Toronto ON, November 15-17, 2012

Home Care Technology Conference 2012

Toronto (Vaughan) ON, November 19, 2012

Toronto Cancer 2012

Education Conference & Medical Exposition, Toronto ON, November 22-23, 2012

B.C. Cancer Agency 2012 Annual Cancer Conference

Evolving Dynamics in Research and Patient Care, Vancouver BC, November 29 – December 1, 2012

2013 Annual Hospice Palliative Care Ontario Conference

Ottawa ON, April 28-30, 2013

Alberta Health Services 14th Annual Mary O'Connor Palliative & Hospice Care Conference

Calgary AB, May 9, 2013

2013 British Columbia Hospice Palliative Care Association Annual Conference

Moving Forward Together - Collaborating with Creativity and Compassion, Richmond BC, June 2-3, 2013

2013 SHPCA Annual Conference

Out of the Shadows: Extending the Boundaries of Hospice Palliative Care, Regina SK, June 13-14, 2013

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