Fort St. John proclaims Hospice and Palliative Care Week in May

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City of Fort St. John has declared May 5th to 11th Hospice and Palliative Care Week to recognize, highlight, and celebrate the impact of palliative care on families across Canada. 

During the April 22nd council meeting, Michelle Roberts and Judi Smart of the Fort St. John and District Palliative Care Society gave a presentation and accepted the proclamation while calling for better access to this care.

“Like the North Star guiding a weary traveller through the night. It supports caregivers and their loved ones facing illness so you can navigate this challenging journey together,” said Smart.

According to its website, the Fort St. John and District Palliative Care Society is a non-profit society incorporated in March 1997. Its mission is to enhance the quality of life and death of persons facing death and bereavement through skilled and compassionate physical, social, emotional, and spiritual care.

During their presentation, Roberts explained that the society has significantly increased in popularity and has four branches that deliver care to people. 

The first branch is visiting volunteers who offer essential companionship services and support at the bedside of family and loved ones. 

The second branch is the hospital bed program, which offers a free hospital bed delivery service to patients in critical care who would like to die in the comfort of their own homes. 

“We now have 25 hospital beds with brand new mattresses and other aids such as portable lifts, bathroom aids and gel pads,” said Roberts.

The third branch is the grief support group.

“This group offers people the opportunity to release powerful emotions in a safe and confidential. It grounds people in grieving in the presence of understanding their feelings and not feeling alone,” said Roberts. 

According to Roberts, the fourth branch is advanced care planning, which offers patients the chance to express their values and wishes at the end of their lives.

The society had a set up at the Fort St. John Trade Show earlier this month offering an Advanced Care Planning workshop.

“Beyond palliative care, we will continue to build our capacity as a society to care for Fort St. John by training more volunteers, recruiting more volunteers for things other than the visiting volunteers and bringing in the grief support,” said Smart.

Smart also mentioned they are on the list of stakeholders with the Harlequin at City Centre and in communication with Melissa DeGenova, director of development partnerships for VRS Communities, to work towards their vision of bringing a Hospice facility to Fort St. John.