Norfolk Sunrise News
Posted by Ross Gowan
COMMUNITY FORUM A SUCCESS
The Rotary Club of Norfolk Sunrise identified hospice and palliative care to be a community need, and began exploring the issues. They joined forces with the Port Dover Lions Club to
Host a community forum aimed at building awareness in the community and also to provide information to community members who are unsure about what services are available and how to access them.
About 200 very interested people attended the Palliative Care Community Forum on Saturday, March 5th at Port Dover Community Centre, and listened intently to the highly acclaimed keynote speaker, Dr. Denise Marshall, and the 5 panelist speakers.
Dr. Marshall, who is a Paul Harris Fellow from Grimsby, spoke about the need for community to be an integral part of the palliative care system within a geographical region. The "Compassionate Communities" model of care is gaining traction in some Canadian communities. Dr. Marshall spoke to the need for the various health care providers who serve palliative patients and their families to join forces and serve their clients with an integrated continuum of care that allows palliative patients to select the form of care that best suits their needs, and allows patients to move seamlessly through the palliative care range of services.
Panel presenters included four service providers and one representative of the Local Health Integrated Network which allocates funding from Ontario’s Ministry of Health and Long Term Care. The audience submitted many questions for the moderated panel discussion that followed. It was clear throughout the day that the Norfolk community has all the pieces and the dedicated and passionate care providers in place to create a "Compassionate Community."
This Forum is considered one step in a process to enhance the services available in the Norfolk community. Although the next step is not yet entirely clear, the path forward is much more in-focus now.