Compassion & Support.
For All Ages & All Stages
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By donating to Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Palliative Care you allow us
to continue to provide quality hospice palliative care to those people
facing life-threatening illnesses, their families & caregivers.
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Supporting the Community

All we do is in strict confidence and FREE of charge.

    Our community-based organization offers seriously-ill residents of Niagara-on-the-Lake and their families and/or caregivers a variety of Palliative Care services that include:
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Volunteers

Community Support Volunteers assist clients and caregivers by providing Companionship, Caregiver relief, Emotional and Spiritual Wellness support. We provide compassionate listening and companionship for up to a year after a death has occurred.

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Resources

We offer a variety of information on places to deliver meals, housekeeping, private nursing services, adult daycares, personal & home care, advanced care planning information, funeral & memorial services, legacy work, burial services, death doulas, drivers and many more.

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Equipment

Our equipment list is endless; we have wheelchairs, walkers, canes, transfer chairs, bath and shower support, commodes, Ro-Ho pads, foam mattresses, sheepskins and more. We lend our equipment free of charge for as long as it is needed.

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Bereavement Services

We offer compassionate listening, one-on-one telephone support, virtual or in-person companionship support, and a variety of wellness group support activities. From memory boxes to legacy work and grief walks, we have services and supports to meet the needs of every unique circumstance.

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Accessing Our Services

Accessing our services is as easy as a referral and can be made by anyone: the person who is ill, the family, a physician, the Community Care Access Centre, a nurse or a friend. All that is needed is a call or email to our office. Be sure to leave a message if no one is there and it will be returned very quickly.

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Referral Procedures

Most physicians in the area have the proper referral form. If not, please call your case manager with LHIN or talk to our Executive Director.

Trained Community Support Volunteers

As of Summer, 2020 Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Palliative Care has over 40 trained volunteers. Before any active involvement with our clients, each volunteer must complete an interviewing process, take an approved 30 hour Palliative Care Volunteer Training Course, have a police check and be oriented to our Service. The importance of complete confidentiality is stressed to our volunteers.

Our Community Support Volunteers offer our clients emotional support, compassionate listening, companionship and caregiver relief in the community and in the 3 local long term care facilities. We have a Weekly Community Support Volunteer Program that sends at least one volunteer one morning each week to Chartwell Niagara, Heritage Place and Upper Canada Lodge. The volunteers have short visits with a number of our clients that need special attention on that day.

Volunteers meet with clients virtually via Zoom. The schedule is decided by the volunteer and the client. The length of a virtual visit could be anywhere from 10 minutes to 1 hour, depending on the client. The volunteer is required to meet virtually with clients weekly or bi-weekly. 

Volunteers meet with clients at their place of residence r at a location that has been agreed upon. The length of the visit is between 2 and 4 hours. The volunteer is required to visit with clients weeklly or bi-weekly. 

Volunteers go into the long-term care homes and visit with all of our clients on our roster that is awake and able. There are 3 long-term care facilities that we visit. Upper Canada Lodge, Niagara Long Term Care, Radiant Care (Heritage Place and Pleasant Manor). These visits are typically between 15 minutes to 1 hour per client. The volunteer is required to go into the long-term care home weekly or bi-weekly. 

Volunteers assist in facilitating grief walks with a group of clients who are bereaved. They currently take place every Thursday morning at 10 am at a designated meetings spot. 

Volunteers drive clients (matched or unmatched) to and from medical appointments ONLY. Volunteers may also drive clients for groceries or immediate needs. This is at the “volunteer’s discretion.” Mileage is paid for all driving services. 

For a client who is interested in having some legacy work done. Volunteers help by putting together a persons’ life history with that client. Before and after passing. 

Resources

We offer a variety of information on places to deliver meals, housekeeping, private nursing services, adult daycares, lawn care, haircutting, advanced care planning information, funeral services, legacy work, memorial services, burial services, death doulas, grocery shopping providers, drivers and more.

Our library not only has an extensive book collection but also offers many DVDs and CDs for our clients’ enjoyment. The collection is divided into the following categories: Aids, Alternative Therapies, Bereavement, Cancer, Caregiving Information and Support, Children and Teens, Facing Illness, Humour, Medical and Nursing Information, Spiritual Support and Suicide.

Anyone in the Niagara-on-the-Lake area is welcome to access these resources. To access the library or any resources we have listed here, contact us to arrange to meet a staff member at the office.

Equipment Lending

We have a wide variety of equipment that we either lend or give to our clients. We also give books to clients and families on such subjects as caring for the seriously ill at home, getting your affairs in order and grief and bereavement. We don’t expect the books back; we hope they will be passed on to someone else who might benefit from them.

For the equipment that is returned to us, we ask that after it’s used that it is cleaned before it comes back. We sanitize the equipment before it goes back out again.  For the lift/recliner chairs, Simpson’s Pharmacy located in Niagara-on-the-Lake delivers and picks them up for us for no cost to us or our clients. They also steam clean and sanitize the chair before it is delivered to a new client.

To arrange to lend from our library or borrow equipment contact our Executive Director.

Bereavement Support

We offer 3 kinds of support after a loved one dies.

When requested, phone bereavement is offered for up to one year after the death of a loved one. A trained Volunteer will call you, on the phone or through Zoom at your convenience, for up to one year after the passing of a loved one. 

Community events and workshops are held throughout the year at our location. A trained facilitator conducts the group, which can run once a week for three consecutive weeks.

These Community Wellness Support events are a way to celebrate, mourn and work through the passing of a loved one; grief walks, memory boxes, a celebration of life, workshops, Life-legacy, etc.

A volunteer will come alongside you to offer support while adjusting to the new loss. Volunteers can provide you with coping skills and guidance if necessary, should everyday things become overwhelming. Companions never tire of hearing your story.

Workshops

We offer workshops that assist, educate and support those preparing for a loss, actively bereaving or individuals looking to memorialize their loved ones. 

Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Palliative Care is excited to offer Recharge Caregivers Group. This supportive program aims to be a safe space for individuals who care for others to express their thoughts, feelings, experiences and struggles with others on a similar journey.

READ MORE HERE

Details coming soon.

Details coming soon.

Details coming soon.

Details coming soon.

This pet loss program focuses on individuals experiencing grief surrounding the loss of a beloved pet. Over a two-week period, participants will use art as a medium to reframe the narrative of loss. Facilitated by our specially trained volunteers, we will help facilitate individuals’ creative work and stories.

Workshops are free, and no experience is necessary.

READ MORE HERE.

Who Can Use Our Service?

Any person who has a life-limiting illness and resides within the boundaries of the Town of Niagara-on-the-Lake is eligible for our Palliative Care Service, incl: NOTL Old Town, Queenston, Virgil and St.Davids.  Our Service is available to ALL regardless of their age, gender, national and ethnic origin, race, colour, language, religion, sexual orientation or family status. These criteria are reviewed as required by the NOTL CPCS Board.

How To Access Our Service

A referral to The Niagara-on-the-Lake Community Palliative Care Service can be made by anyone: the person who is ill, the family, a physician, the Community Care Access Centre, a nurse or a friend. All that is needed is a call or email to our office. Be sure to leave a message if no one is there and it will be returned very quickly.

To receive our services a verbal consent must be given by the client and/or the family/caregiver/POA (Power of Attorney).

If the client is in the community when the referral is made, our Executive Director will contact the client and/or family to set up a time to meet to describe the services that are available and to help arrange suitable support from our Service.

If the client is in long term care facility when the referral is made, then the referral form is filled out by the appropriate staff member and faxed to our office. Our Executive Director goes to meet the client to assess what kind of help is needed and, when possible, gets in touch with a family member.

Referral Procedure

for a Palliative Care Physician

To access the current palliative care doctors that serve NOTL, there must be a referral from another physician who is treating our client.

Most physicians in the area have the proper referral form. If not, please call your case manager with LHIN or talk to our Executive Director.

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All Ages
All Stages

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