End of Life

196 articles:
In Memoriam
Palliative Care
MAiD
Goals of Care
by Darren Cargill

No need for super heroes. What we need is the will to fix our health-care system

Panels have been stuck. Articles and reports have been written. But Canadians will have to stay informed and involved if we want to improve our health-care system.
by Darren Cargill

There is no debate – Patient Medical Homes are the way to go

The Patient's Medical Home is a vision for the future of family practice in Canada: One that focuses on comprehensive, coordinated, and continuing care for populations through a family physician working with health care teams.

by Maddi Dellplain ... ...

The right to die: Should MAiD apply to those whose sole condition is mental illness?

With the expansion of medical assistance in dying (MAiD) to include those whose sole condition is mental illness fast approaching, we asked a panel of experts whether they felt this was a move in the right direction — and what they hope to see moving forward.

by Darren Cargill

On mentors: Honouring the legacy of a palliative care specialist

Gone but not forgotten: Darren Cargill honours his mentor in palliative care, Ciaran Sheehan, for National Hospice and Palliative Care Week.

by Alexandra Campbell

Advance care planning? Your future self might not thank you

Advance care planning takes for granted that any wishes about my care that I made in advance should guide the treatment I get when I'm incapacitated. But what if they actually shouldn't – because when incapacitated, I'm not the same person?
by Celina Carter

Palliative care doctor bridges health-care worlds

Michael Anderson, a doctor of Mohawk and English-Canadian ancestry, is drawing on Indigenous knowledge to not only improve palliative care – but also discover his culture and himself.
by Meera Mahendiran

Mental health and MAID: An ongoing challenge

Parliament is looking into offering MAiD to people whose only underlying condition is a mental illness. But this might be premature. After all, shouldn't we first improve mental health care in Canada?

by Darren Cargill

Holy health care, Batman! Do you have a plan for What if …?

What if you needed urgent medical care, but someone else had to speak on your behalf about the care that you'd receive? Advance care planning would prepare you for such a situation. Don't leave it to others to make guesses about your care.
by Anna Neely Justine Giosa Paul Holyoke Hana Irving

Healing through community: Reflecting on collective grief from COVID-19

We are grieving loss of life on a mass scale at a time when pandemic restrictions have disrupted our customary death rituals and traditions. Could an initiative called The Reflection Room help LTC residents and others cope with their grief?

by Rachel Watts

‘A second layer of loss’: Pandemic has changed how we grieve for our loved ones

For many people grieving the loss of a loved one during COVID-19, public-health restrictions on death-related rituals like funerals have created a "second layer of loss," taking an emotional and spiritual toll.

by Darren Cargill

Western’s Centre for Palliative Care is an idea whose time has come

Western University may open an institute meant to foster cross-disciplinary innovation in the field of palliative care. If fully realized, it could transform health care in southwestern Ontario. Now, let's go even farther.
by Darren Cargill Kieran Quinn

Virtual care evens the odds in ‘palliative care lottery’

While virtual care comes with drawbacks that must be carefully managed, it will ultimately be a huge step forward in improving access to palliative care in Ontario and Canada.
by Max Binks-Collier

‘You need not be alone anymore’: The doctor redefining palliative care

Dr. Ramona Mahtani has led an effort to integrate palliative care into siloed medical specializations throughout the pandemic. In doing so, she has put forward a bold, boundary-pushing vision of what palliative care can be.

by Darren Cargill

In praise of nurses – and Grammy

In hospice settings, nurses wet the mouths of patients as they take their last breaths. Sometimes, they simply sit with them so that no one dies alone. As a physician, I could not do my job without them.
by Larry W. Chambers Madeleine Smith

New MAiD legislation calls for the wise words of a pioneer

The new MAiD law should provoke reflection about our own attitudes toward death. A place to start is a wise 12-minute video produced by a prominent geriatrician shortly before his own medically assisted death.
by Darren Cargill James Downar

HOMR’s Odyssey: Calculating palliative need in real time

By using tools that identify which patients have an elevated risk of mortality in the coming year, we can catch patients who would benefit from palliative care planning before they fall through the cracks.
by Darren Cargill

Lessons from Down Under – Eight pillars to support palliative care

During the pandemic, we Canadians could learn a thing or two from our Aussie friends Down Under. This includes important lessons on palliative care.

by Darren Cargill

Bazinga! A unified model of palliative care in Ontario

To ensure access to high-quality palliative care for all Ontarians facing a life-limiting illness, we need a unified model of palliative care across Ontario.

by Darren Cargill

Focus on palliative care will help hospitals recover from COVID-19

To address the surgical backlog caused by COVID-19, we need community-based palliative care to free up important hospital resources.

by Helen Senderovich Briam Jimenez Lopez

Why choose palliative care?

You may assume that palliative care is synonymous with end-of-life or hospice care. Our goal is to eliminate this common misconception.

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