Ottawa (August 29, 2024) The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) today announced they will be sending two delegates, Advance Care Planning Director, Karine Diedrich and Project Officer, Merry Parkinson to Cologne, Germany to represent CHPCA at the 4^th International Last Aid Conference.

Delegates from 20+ countries will gather in Germany, September 5th and 6^th at the University Hospital Cologne to discuss:

• Palliative Care and Last Aid in the Community
• International experiences
• Last Aid courses for different groups
• Last Aid research
• World café: Last Aid and Networks in Community Palliative Care

Established throughout Germany and available in 23 countries around the world, Last Aid courses are valuable for helping people how to understand and cope with dying, death, and grief, offering practical knowledge and skills for handling the end-of-life journey with care and awareness. The Last Aid International Conference 2024 is organized by Last Aid International, the Last Aid Research Group International (LARGI) and Letzte Hilfe Deutschland gGmbH in cooperation with Caring Community Köln and the Department of Palliative Medicine, Faculty of Medicine and University Hospital, University of Cologne.

CHPCA are currently working to bring Last Aid courses to Canada with an expected start date of early 2025.

“Last Aid is for everyone who wants to learn more about what they can do for those close to them during dying, death, and grieving”, commented CHPCA CEO, Laurel Gillespie, “Serious illness, dying, and grief can make us feel helpless. The Last Aid course builds understanding and confidence so we can better support those who are dying and grieving and have less fear about our own mortality.”

More information about Last Aid in Canada can be found on the CHPCA website: https://www.chpca.ca/education/last-aid/

About Last Aid

Originating in Germany, and now being offered in twenty-three countries, Last Aid is an academically reviewed, public education course that gives the average person an overview of dying and grief.

Last Aid is often described as a First Aid course for end-of-life. This short course gives you the information you need to support your loved ones, and provides access to a great deal of resources, including organizations, websites, books, and videos.

About Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association — the national voice for hospice palliative care in Canada – is dedicated to the pursuit of excellence in care for persons approaching death so that the burdens of suffering, loneliness and grief are lessened. The CHPCA operates in close partnership with other national organizations and continues to work to ensure that all Canadians, regardless of where they may live, have equal access to quality hospice palliative care services for themselves and their family.