At the beginning of October, the Sundre Palliative Care Association hosted the first meeting with many of the stakeholders who participate in palliative care in Sundre.
We wanted to have all the invested parties in the same room to facilitate a meaningful conversation. Among those groups in attendance were people from the medical clinics, pharmacies, Greenwood Neighbourhood Place, social work, mental health, spiritual, Primary Care Network, the Sundre Hospital and Care Centre and our own palliative care resource nurse. Conflicting schedules prevented others from attending; we hope they and others will join us for the next meeting.
Our aim was first and foremost to acquaint ourselves with each of the partners who provide important needs for the palliative patient and their families. It was enlightening to hear what service everyone provides. Many of us learned things about the other stakeholders that we didn't know before. We had a greater appreciation to all for the services they provide and the passion they have for the palliative community. We came away truly inspired for the amazing possibilities for the palliative patient.
Our main goal was to encourage conversation, open the dialogue for ways to improve how we serve the palliative community, as well as to set goals to strive for. We came away with a unanimous consensus to improve the overall communication between each of the entities in Sundre who are experts in their area. The Sundre Palliative Care Association understands that a central website that all people in the community can access would be of great benefit to all caregivers, patients and their families. To that end, we are hoping to have a website up and running in the very near future. Stay tuned for details.
We renewed our pledge to providing funding for palliative education for staff in Sundre. It is paramount to us that we support the education and knowledge building of our physicians, nurses and other staff members.
Another goal we have is to fund equipment for the palliative patient wishing to remain at home.
Our aim is to continue the excellent conversation we started and keep our goals in sight. As a community of palliative care providers, we want to be approachable to each other and to all those in the community who would like to get information or services from us. We intend to hold another meeting early in the new year which will keep the momentum of conversation going forward.
"The desire is for all persons with a life-limiting illness to have the hope of caring and comfort and the means to spend their remaining life in the best way possible, wherever that may be."
Diana Kleinloog is a member of the Sundre Palliative Care Association.
