VON Durham Hospice Services

Overview of programs and Services:

VON Durham Hospice Services, a registered charitable and not-for-profit organization, provides compassionate and timely comfort, care and hope to individuals and caregivers who are facing advanced illness, death or bereavement. VON Durham Hospice Services’ core programs include palliative and bereavement support and educational services throughout the Durham Region. Our programs are delivered by a team of approximately 10 staff and over 200 highly skilled and trained volunteers. Since April 2017, VON Durham Hospice Services has touched the lives of nearly 700 individuals through emotional, social and practical support.

Palliative Care Services
Our palliative care services include one-on-one support matches with clients and their families delivered by highly trained volunteers in their place of residence. Direct support was provided to 334 palliative clients and their families, friends and caregivers in the last year. Our weekly Day Hospice program in Oshawa has continued to flourish by providing much needed support to patients, as well as caregivers in the Durham Region. Our palliative care services support families as they journey through the disease progression, as well as allowing caregivers to take time to focus on additional priorities and their own self-care.

Bereavement Care Services
Our bereavement program supports clients through one-on-one sessions with specially trained volunteers or through loss-specific peer support groups for those who have experienced the death of a spouse, child and/or parent. Within the last year, we have provided direct service to over 250 clients. We have expanded our program to include a Children’s and Youth grief group, as well as a weekly drop-in bereavement program.

Palliative Care Community Team (PCCT)
The VON Durham PCCT is a multidisciplinary team that provides holistic person centred palliative care to individuals from early diagnosis through bereavement. This care includes: disease management, psychological, social, spiritual, practical, end of life care/death management, loss and grief support. A patient and family centred approach is adopted; respecting the patient’s social, spiritual and cultural practices. The PCCT has touched the lives of approximately 110 clients and their caregivers since the team’s launch in April 2017. The VON Durham PCCT is currently available in the Municipality of Clarington and the Townships of Brock, Scugog and Uxbridge. The team is in the early stages of expanding into Oshawa and Whitby, and will continue to expand across Durham Region in upcoming years. The PCCT is funded by the Central East Local Health Integration Network.

Hospice Palliative Care Education
VON Durham is proud to be a well-known and trusted provider of palliative education for Durham Region’s healthcare professionals, community members, and volunteer personnel. VON Durham coordinates the delivery of Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care training (FHPC) five times per year, Enhanced Fundamentals of Hospice Palliative Care training (EFHPC) twice per year, and the Comprehensive Advanced Palliative Care Education (CAPCE) annually.

What languages are your services offered in?:

English

Is your program designated as a hospice palliative care program/service?:

Yes

What population of hospice palliative care patients/clients does your program/service currently serve?:

All Ages

What are your admission/referral criteria?:

Clients are required to be residents of Durham Region.

Your hospice palliative care program/service provides support and/or care for the following:

Anticipatory Grief and Bereavement
Emotional/Spiritual Support

How would you answer the following question if asked by a patient, client, resident and/or family? "What can you do for me?":

Bereavement: