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It’s 2020, so like so many events where large groups would traditionally gather, this year’s Learning Institute, hosted by Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA), is going virtual. As a result, you can benefit from some top-calibre educators and mentors without boarding a plane. This year, the Serious Illness Conversation (SIC) stream will be co-led [...]

By Katherine Murray, RN, BSN, MA, CHPCN(C) In spring 2020 as COVID emerged around the world, Dr Bonnie Henry invited British Columbians to be kind, be calm and be safe. It was a tall order for essential workers, especially Health Care Assistants (HCAs) – the heroes of the health care team. Based on feedback from

From Kitchen Table Chats in the Spring to Patio Ponderings over the summer, BCCPC has asked the province’s Health Care Assistants (HCAs) to tell their stories, with an eye to learning how the Centre can best support this group during COVID-19. The stories were compelling. There were stories of worry and fear; caring and compassion.

For young people with life-limiting conditions, advances in health care have had a significant impact—including now having a much higher likelihood of living into adulthood. Transitioning from pediatric care to the adult system means leaving a coordinated health, social and education services system, and entering one that is more fragmented and largely unprepared for the

The BCCPC dementia project enters a new phase this month with the launch of the programs in partnership with four pilot sites in the North Okanagan, Greater Victoria and the Lower Mainland. The project builds on the success of community-led Advance Care Planning (ACP) interventions to meet the needs of people living with early stages

Talking about your future health and personal care, what’s important to you and what’s not, can be a challenging conversation, but it’s what Advance Care Planning (ACP) is all about. The aim is to have person-centred care and supports, even if the person isn’t able to speak for themselves. For people living with dementia, there

With orders to self-isolate and even quarantine some vulnerable individuals and populations, the COVID-19 pandemic is placing unprecedented demands on health care professionals, especially Health Care Assistants (HCAs), in both their professional capacity as well as in daily life. As part of our consultation on how to support our stakeholders during COVID-19, we discovered a

By the time WHO declared a global pandemic on March 11, the health care community had already been on alert, prepping to meet the challenge of a once-in-a-century epidemiological event. The coming months would be anything but business as usual, and the stakeholder groups of the BCCPC—health care professionals, community organizations and individuals and families—would

Compassionate communities don’t just happen… they are an intentional act by a community of people determined to improve the experiences of everyone in the community, especially those living with serious illness, caregiving, dying or grieving. A compassionate community takes an active role in caring for these people and connecting them to supports; raising awareness about