Kath's Blog

“CPR” or “Allow Natural Death” – How the message is presented makes a difference

kath — Wed, 15 May 2013 10:40:42 PDT

The words and tone that doctors use, and personal experiences they share affect whether or not people chose CPR (Cardiopulmonary Resusciation) to be performed if/when their loved ones heart stops. In a recent study “Some of the men and women … Continue reading →

Heleset Hale Marathon – Raising awareness of suicide prevention

kath — Tue, 14 May 2013 16:34:19 PDT

Kelly Paul, a woman from the Tsartlip Band in Brentwood Bay, is running 535 km from the north end of Vancouver Island to Victoria to raise awareness and open dialogue about suicide prevention. Kelly is a leader in her community, … Continue reading →

Hospice Cuts and Closures –

kath — Tue, 14 May 2013 15:09:42 PDT

Recently I heard that the legendary San Diego Hospice was bankrupt and closing. Today I read that Perram Hospice (serving the marginalized population) in Toronto is closing, and that the Calgary home care program has cut half of the palliative … Continue reading →

On being a hospice palliative care nurse AND a daughter…

kath — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 23:09:35 PDT

Last month I wrote about my mom dying. Mary Hughes (nurse leader extraordinaire) from PEI wrote to say that she wanted to hear my thoughts on being a daughter and a Hospice Palliative Care (HPC) nurse.. how was it easier? … Continue reading →

Resource Evaluation

kath — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 00:46:09 PDT

My goal for the “Essentials in Hospice Palliative Care” resources is to develop resources that are user friendly, functional, delicious and digestible, and that increase the students’ competence, confidence and compassion in caring for the dying. How do we know … Continue reading →

Kath’s favorite read for April – written by Della Roberts and Gina Gaspard

kath — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:32:03 PDT

For most residents, the Long Term Care facility will be their last home. The average length of stay in many Canadian communities is less than 18 months, in some communities it is as low as 6 momnths. We need to … Continue reading →

BC Government annouces their End of Life Care Plan….

kath — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 23:28:40 PDT

The End of Life Care Plan is intended as a guide for health care providers to plan and meet the needs of the dying, their families and caregivers. IN addition to the plan, financial support was provided to a number … Continue reading →

Key self care strategy – revealing and revealed

kath — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 15:44:30 PDT

While caregiving over the past few months, my sister Barb (the Danish Viking) taught me a self care strategy that she promised would clear my brains and freshen my perspective. Off to the beach we went. With ice on the … Continue reading →

Kath’s favorite read this month – “”Generalist plus Specialist Palliative Care – creating a more sustainable model of palliative care”

kath — Tue, 19 Mar 2013 10:51:26 PDT

In the essay “Generalist plus Specialist Palliative Care — Creating a More Sustainable Model” Dr Timothy Quill and Dr Amy Abernethy propose that even though specialist palliative care consultations improve quality of care, reduce costs, and may increase longevity that … Continue reading →

“It was the richest period of my life”

kath — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 20:32:49 PST

Mom died on January 16th, two months and one week after being diagnosed with a terminal cancer. We often talked of Joanne Lynn’s phrase “the blessing of a thoroughly dismal prognosis”. She referred to that blessing almost daily. Mom described … Continue reading →