CHPCA and the Canadian Network of Palliative Care for Children (CNPCC) were proud to mark October 13th, 2022 as National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day in Canada.
During National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day 2022, we celebrated how palliative care teams across Canada help children with serious illnesses and their families Make Every Day Count!
Every child deserves a full, happy life filled with love. How can we make sure that happens for children with a serious illness? That’s where children’s hospice palliative care teams come in. Their focus is on improving the quality of life of the child and their family – that means support for symptom management, emotional and spiritual needs, building connections with other families on similar journeys, facilitating family activities, and so much more!
When you’re running from one appointment to the next and struggling to find resources to support your family through the daily challenges that can arise with a seriously ill child, it’s easy for things to fall through the cracks. Some of those things can be quality family time – and the opportunity for kids to just be kids. Pediatric palliative care teams are there to lighten the load, to walk alongside your family on this journey, and to give your family the support and resources you need so you can focus on the little joys and precious moments together.
Show your support on social media using the hashtags #MakeEveryDayCount and #HPCForChildren!
For organisations: Access the campaign kit here.
What is pediatric hospice palliative care?
Pediatric hospice palliative care is an active, holistic approach to care which focuses on relieving the physical, social, psychological, and spiritual suffering experienced by children and families who face a life-threatening condition, and helping them fulfill their physical, psychological, social, and spiritual goals. This approach to care can benefit any child with a serious illness regardless of their prognosis – particularly if it is a life-threatening or progressive condition.
What pediatric hospice palliative care can do for your child:
- Reduce the impact symptoms have on their life
- Provide a place for them to develop friendships with other kids with similar experiences.
- Prioritize their quality of life – regardless of their prognosis.
- Provide a team of care providers dedicated to ensuring their specific priorities and needs are met.
- Compassionate care that is focused on Making Every Day Count. To its fullest.
… and for your family:
- Support families in all the areas of their lives impacted by a child’s illness.
- Facilitate times for your family to enjoy quality time and fun together.
- Social, spiritual, emotional support for your entire family.
- Walk you through your child’s illness trajectory to help you prepare and plan for potential future health care or support needs.
- Connect you to a community of other parents, siblings, and children who are facing similar struggles.
- Connect your family to services in the community based on your family’s needs.
- Provide or facilitate access to respite care or other supportive services.
Event
Thursday, October 13, 2022 at 2pm EDT
On October 13th, 2022 at 2pm EDT, CHPCA and CNPCC hosted a FREE webinar, sponsored by Children’s Healthcare Canada, that shone a light on the lived experiences of three families whose children received hospice palliative care. This panel of families shared the impacts that palliative care had on their child’s life and on their family, the care and supportive resources they accessed thanks to palliative care, and how the care they received empowered their children and families to Make Every Day Count.
Who is this webinar for?
This webinar is for families with seriously ill children, health care professionals who treat or support seriously ill children and their families, hospice palliative care volunteers, members of support networks for families with sick children, and those interested in learning more about pediatric palliative care.
Missed the live webinar? Watch the recording below!
Thanks to the support of GSK Inc. and Purdue Pharma (Canada), CHPCA and the CNPCC compiled a repository of resources on pediatric hospice palliative care for families and for health care workers. The resources touch on topics like what pediatric palliative care entails, anticipatory grief, and supporting siblings of children with a life-threatening illness, among many others.
Downloadable Campaign Resources
Images for Social Media
Have your own picture you want to use on social media?
Add your own picture or logo using one of these free customizable Canva templates of the above social media images to make the campaign your own!
Social Media Post Templates
Download these templated social media posts you can use and modify to engage online for National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day!
To download the campaign kit in English and French, including a press release template, click here.
Other Activities
- Submit articles online to ehospice.
- Volunteer with a community organization such as a walking or gardening group, your local children’s hospice or hospital, schools, community centers and other groups that provide essential services in your neighbourhood.
- Hospice Palliative Care and Advance Care Planning: get informed about what your options are so you can focus on what’s important in your life.
National Children's Hospice Palliative Care Day 2022 is brought to you in partnership with:
Thank you to our sponsors:
Upcoming National Children's Hospice Palliative Care Day Dates
National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day 2023 : October 12, 2023
National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day 2024: October 10, 2024
National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day 2025: October 9, 2025