Ontario Expanding Access to Palliative Care in Essex County
1 New hospice bed in Essex County will connect more people to end-of-life care close to home.
Essex County — The Ontario government is connecting more people in Essex County and Windsor to comfortable and dignified end-of-life care, close to their community and loved ones by adding 1 new hospice bed at Hospice of Windsor & Essex County. This is part of an expansion of 84 new adult hospice beds across the province, bringing the total number of publicly funded hospice beds in Ontario to 768.
“Expanding access to hospice care in Essex County is a compassionate step forward in providing our residents with the care and comfort they deserve during the most difficult moments of their lives,” said MPP, Trevor Jones for Chatham-Kent-Leamington. “The addition of this hospice bed ensures that more families can remain close to their loved ones in their final days, surrounded by support and dignity. This investment reflects our commitment to improving end-of-life care across Ontario.”
This expansion is part of the province’s up to $19.75 million capital investment to add 84 new adult hospice beds across the province, bringing the total number of publicly funded hospice beds in Ontario to 768. When these 84 new beds are open, the province will provide an additional up to $16.03 million per year to support the operation of these beds.
“Our government is ensuring people and their families have access to the comprehensive care they need in their community, close to their loved ones, at every stage of life,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “By investing in the expansion of end-of-life care in communities across the province, we are taking another step to connect Ontarians to compassionate and specialized care closer to home.”
Once opened, these new adult hospice beds will bring the total number of beds at Hospice of Windsor & Essex County to 12 patient beds.
As a next step, the ministry is working with Hospice of Windsor & Essex County to bring the new bed into operation.
Through the Ontario government’s Your Health plan, the province is making it easier and faster for people of all ages to connect to the care they need, where and when they need it. This includes investing up to $147.4 million over three years to expand access to palliative care services, including increasing funding by 45 per cent for all hospice beds across the province, with additional increases for hospice beds in smaller sites of six beds or less.
QUICK FACTS
- Palliative care, which includes end-of-life care, can begin as early as the diagnosis of a serious illness and focuses on improving the quality of each individual’s life. This integrated form of care ensures people can access the support they need when facing illness, death, grief, and/or bereavement.
- The Ontario Palliative Care Network (OPCN), led by Ontario Health, is a partnership of health service providers (including hospices, long-term care homes, hospitals and others), community and social support service organizations, health system planners, Ontario Health Teams, and patient and family/care partner advisors, formed to develop a coordinated, standardized approach to palliative care.
QUOTES
“We are incredibly grateful for this funding and for the continued support of our community. The people of Leamington and Windsor-Essex built this Hospice through their dedication, their generosity, their volunteerism, and their belief in the value of palliative care,” said Katharen Bortolin, Executive Director of The Hospice. “This new bed is a testament to that ongoing commitment, and we are excited to continue our work in supporting even more families with the specialized, memorable care they need at a critical time in their lives.”
“The amazing team at the Hospice of Windsor and Essex County are dedicated to providing quality care and support to patients and families in our community during a vulnerable time,” said Andrew Dowie, MPP for Windsor-Tecumseh. “The Ontario government is proud to support their great work at Hospice with additional funding in support of compassionate and specialized palliative care services.”
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
MPP Contact
Nammar Cristofari
Executive Assistant
MPP Trevor Jones
Chatham-Kent-Leamington
Nammar.cristofari@pc.ola.org
