Palliative Day Program

Located in North Hastings is the first Rural Residential Hospice House in Ontario. The Hospice House provides 24/7 "end of life care" to individuals and their families during the last three to four weeks of life. This "Showpiece of Community Spirit" was purchased renovated and operates with no charge to individuals thanks in whole to donations from our community. Hospice North Hastings would like to offer a Day Hospice Program as well as our "End of Life" Program.

The Day Hospice Program would be a welcoming oasis in the middle of difficulty for those living with a life-limiting illness and their caregivers. When a diagnosis is given, it can lead to a personal crisis for all concerned, and medical issues can complicate. Finding the psychological, emotional and practical support that is so urgently needed is not easy. Often the sense of isolation can be one of the hardest things to overcome. Living in a rural area does have it's own unique concerns...visiting our closest oncologist involves a three hour round trip and to travel to our closest cancer centre for treatment is a six hour round trip. The travel time alone can be truly exhausting. Our Day Hospice Program would provide a friendly and caring place to meet and refresh. We would offer a variety of programs that are absolutely free of charge to anyone living with a life limiting illness and their caregivers.

The Day Hospice Program would provide diversion, support and respite to those living with life threatening illness and their families, as well as access to care and assessment. What would make this program so unique and viable is that it would operate in conjunction with a local spa. We would not be inventing the wheel, just fine tuning programs to meet the specific needs of our patients. With no fees/costs involved, any patients/caregiver could take advantage of what is offered. The activities at the Day Hospice Program would include, massage therapy, art therapy, reflexology, yoga, manicure/pedicure, hairdressing. The social time with patients and care givers would include time with our own staff and volunteers along with the support found by spending time with others that are in a similar situation. Professional nursing staff from our community Homecare Programs would be available for medical guidance. A light lunch would be served and a quiet room with a bed for resting would be available.

Hospice North Hastings recently opened a business from which 100% of the profits will fund Hospice Programs in North Hastings. We would be able to continue funding this Day Program after the initial year of funding through the AVIVA Community Fund.