Hospice is a philosophy of care which strives to assist those who are dying and their families by offering companionship, practical assistance, and bereavement support. The Vanderhoof Hospice Society is help for your journey through preparing for death, dying, and bereavement.
“You matter because you are you. You matter to the last moment of your life. And we will do all we can not only to help you die peacefully, but also to live until you die.”
Dame Cicely Saunders, St. Christopher’s Hospice
HISTORY OF HOSPICE
Hospices began in the Middle Ages as shelters for travelers, the sick, and the dying. Later, charitable homes for orphans and the dying were opened across Europe. The hospice approach was refined by Dame Cicely. Saunders, a nurse in London, England in the 1960s, who brought together pain control and compassionate care for the total experience of dying. Hospice arrived in North America in 1971, and has expanded across the continent with hospital-based hospice services, stand-alone hospice houses, and hospice societies that train and support volunteers and staff. In British Columbia, hospice services are supported by the BC Hospice and Palliative Care Association, which provides standards of training and care for the provision of consistent services to the dying and bereaved across the province.
WHAT WE DO
The Vanderhoof hospice team consists of caregivers who, working in collaboration with each other, the dying person, and his or her family, provide medical care, excellent pain management, practical solutions to functional problems, and emotional support both during the dying process and after the bereavement.
The team, centered around the dying person and his or her family, may include the following members:
- Family Doctors
- Hospice Care Coordinator
- Home Care Nurses
- Home Support Workers
- Dietitian
- Occupational Therapist
- Physical Therapist
- Clergy
- Volunteers
(The family of the dying person is whoever that person identifies as family, whether related or not.)
