BC Hub for Palliative Care ECHO
In partnership with Pallium Canada, the BC Centre for Palliative Care serves as the Provincial Hub for the Palliative Care ECHO Project in British Columbia.
What is ECHO Project? ECHO (Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes)™ model creates virtual knowledge-sharing networks by bringing together healthcare providers and subject matter experts using videoconference technology, brief lecture presentations, and case-based learning, fostering an “all learn, all teach” approach. ECHO Project, as a model, provides a combination of education, collaboration, mentorship, and resource/expertise sharing across the multidisciplinary team that will benefit all those working to improve the quality of life for people affected by serious illness.
The vision of BC’s Hub for Palliative Care ECHO is for all care providers in BC to have equitable access to learning opportunities, resources and expertise to improve the quality of life of people affected by Serious Illness.
Sessions are FREE to attend and open to a variety of audiences depending on the topic.
Who can attend?
- Any individuals, community groups, and healthcare providers interested in sharing their experiences and learning more about Compassionate Communities. Compassionate Communities are communities of people who are passionate and committed to improve the experiences of those living with a serious illness, caregiving, dying and grieving. A Compassionate Community takes an active role in caring for people affected by these experiences, connects people to supports, raises awareness about end-of-life issues, and builds supportive networks.
Objectives
- Build upon the conversations from the 2024 All Together Symposium hosted by BCCPC
- Provide opportunities for participants to network and share their knowledge and experiences
Details
- 1 hour sessions
- Some sessions may have resources and materials that will be emailed to registrants to review prior to the session
Upcoming sessions
Part of the All Together ECHO Series
This in-service session offers an insightful, step-by-step journey through the development of the Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society’s (PGHPCS) Home Hospice Program—a compassionate model of care that brings hospice support directly into the homes of those nearing the end of life. Attendees will gain a deep understanding of how the program was conceived, thoughtfully planned, effectively implemented, and is continuously evaluated to ensure high-quality care and responsiveness to community needs.
Presenters: Donna Flood, Executive Director, Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society & Erin Connelly, Director of Operations, Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society
Part of the All Together ECHO Series
2SLGBTQIA+ older adults continue to face systemic barriers, invisibility, and unmet needs across hospice, palliative, and long-term care. This session shares lessons from the first year of a two-year provincial initiative led by Dignity Seniors Society to strengthen safer, more welcoming care pathways for 2SLGBTQIA+ people at the end of life. The session opens with Labhrás Quigley introducing the Inclusive Long-Term Care Project, its origins, partnerships across health authorities, and the progress made toward affirming care for 2SLGBTQIA+ older adults throughout British Columbia. Through stories, emerging findings, and practical tools, participants will reflect on how care providers and health systems can build capacity and foster environments grounded in belonging, safety, and dignity.
Presenter: Labhrás Quigley, Project Lead, Dignity Seniors Society
Who Can Attend
Health care providers and students who provide care for people with life-limiting illness in any health care setting. The content is foundational education designed for those who are not familiar with palliative care and a palliative approach.
Objectives
The sessions aim to teach on the foundations of incorporating the palliative approach to care into daily practice.
Details
- 60 minutes interactive sessions designed to be a vehicle for sharing your own experience, resourcefulness, and inventiveness in your work with patients across the care systems.
- Sessions build upon Learning Hub modules created by a team of experts in palliative care and adult education, alongside a focus group of health care providers. This education can be applied to patients of any age, at any point from diagnosis to bereavement, in all care settings.
- Completion of the modules is not required beforehand as the module content will be covered during the ECHO sessions.
- Attendees will have an opportunity to learn from others and discuss case studies and/or questions.
- Register in as many sessions as you like, you do not need to complete one to attend another.
Current and Upcoming Sessions
Part of our Flexing Your Core ECHO series
This session introduces key concepts of a palliative approach. We will discuss who would benefit from a palliative approach to care and talk about a health care provider’s role in providing this approach to care for their patients. A case study will be discussed with participants to give opportunity to reflect on their learnings.
Part of our Flexing Your Core ECHO series
This session we will discuss foundational communication skills and explore a person-centered framework used to guide conversations focusing on what’s important to a person with life-limiting illness. Participants will also have the opportunity to discuss providing virtual care.
Part of our Flexing Your Core ECHO series
In this session we will identify and discuss common issues in palliative care, and we will talk through steps to take in addressing ethical issues by discussing a case scenario. Participants will have the opportunity to reflect on how education, evaluation, QI and research are important in palliative care contexts.
This series is for anyone interested in increasing their knowledge around grief and bereavement to support them personally or in their professional careers. We hope to attract a wide range of people including health care providers, community organizational staff and volunteers, and those personally affected by loss.
Upcoming sessions
Part of our Grief & Bereavement Literacy ECHO Series
This session explores the Canadian Grief Alliance’s Next Steps Action Plan for Grief and Canada’s new National Grief portal, launched in July 2025, called Aboutgrief.ca. The portal aims to help people who are living with grief and those who are supporting others in their grief. It includes articles, a resource map, a Grief Assistant, and a spot to ‘send’ messages.
Session poster you can print and share linked here.
Presenter: Marney Thompson, M.A., Director of Bereavement Services, Victoria Hospice Society
This series is for anyone interested in increasing their knowledge around grief and bereavement to support them personally or in their professional careers.
Who can attend?
Health care professionals who are interested in learning more and sharing best practices around implementing essential conversations with patients and families as part of their practice. These essential conversations may be advance care planning, goals of care and / or Serious Illness Conversations (SICs).
Goal
To further the integration and spread of essential conversations into routine clinical practice throughout B.C.
Objectives
1) Provide ongoing learning opportunities for participants
2) Facilitate knowledge exchange, connectedness, resources sharing, and networking between participants
Upcoming sessions
Join us to learn about a practical, evidence-based tool enabling clinicians to have more, better and earlier conversations with people. Presenters will share about the Serious Illness Conversation Program (SICP) Implementation toolkit pilot within a rural community in Interior Health. We will share how this toolkit was developed to support identifying barriers and facilitators to SICP implementation and lessons learned from this pilot that can be applied to other care settings and regions.
Presenters: Laura Finkler-Kemeny, RN Clinical Lead, Serious Illness Communication, BC Centre for Palliative Care and Grace Hu, MPH Research Coordinator, BC Centre for Palliative Care
Part of our Updated & Innovations in Essential Conversations for the Health Care Team ECHO Series.
Based on a qualitative study exploring English-speaking South Asian Canadians’ perspectives using the Serious Illness Conversation Guide (SICG), this session will examine how cultural norms—generational differences, family decision-making structures, physician-patient power dynamics—shape engagement in serious illness conversations and advance care planning. Participants will review key findings, examine recommended adaptations to SICG phrasing, and walk through practical strategies to deliver culturally safe, values-aligned conversations in clinical practice.
Presenters: Dr. Amrish Joshi, MBBS, MSc. Pal Med, LLM, CCFP (PC), FCFP, FRCPC, Medical Lead for QI, Richmond CoC. Palliative MD, Richmond Integrated Hospice Palliative Care Program. Clinical Assistant Professor, UBC Division of Palliative Medicine. Lara Musa, RN, MPHMSN, CHPCN(C), Palliative Nurse Educator Richmond Integrated Hospice-Palliative Care Team
Create Your Own ECHO Program
We can support health care providers, health care facilities, and community organizations to establish their own ECHO program.
Download our guide for co-creating an ECHO
Have an idea for an ECHO program, series, session, or workshop? We want to hear from you! contact echo@bc-cpc.ca
