Ontario Expanding Access to Palliative Care in Ottawa

OTTAWA — The Ontario government is investing $2.75 million over two years to increase access to comfortable and dignified end-of-life care close to home for families in the Ottawa region. This investment will add eight new hospice beds at Hospice Care Ottawa’s La Maison de l’Est, and two new pediatric hospice beds at Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice located at the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO).

“Our government is ensuring people, at every stage of life, have access to the care they need in their community, close to their loved ones,” said Sylvia Jones, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health. “Expanding access to end-of-life care services in the Ottawa region is another step our government is taking to deliver high quality, dignified care for patients and their loved ones with additional choices about where they spend their final days with the specialized support they need.”

The two new pediatric hospice beds at Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice bring the total number of beds at this hospice to 10. Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice offers families comprehensive palliative care for children and youth living with progressive life-limiting illnesses. Services include:

Residential care, including pediatric end-of-life nursing and personal support
Respite and symptom management
Recreation therapy
Volunteer visiting home hospice services
Memory and legacy making
Grief and bereavement support for parents, caregivers, siblings and grandparents.

Through Your Health, Ontario 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 palliative care services across the province to ensure Ontarians have a choice about where they spend their final days.

“With these two new beds, we will be able to extend our services to more families caring for children and youth with life-limiting illnesses. This will create more open access to a unique blend of support services, including respite, symptom management, recreation therapy and grief support. Most importantly, these additions will mean more families can celebrate their children by cherishing precious moments shared together.”

– Megan Wright, Executive Director, Roger Neilson Children’s Hospice