Request a Hospice Speaker

You can help raise awareness for NOHS by requesting a speaker in your class (elementary, secondary school, college or university level), service club or business.

We can tailor a presentation to your needs. Our topics range from hospice palliative care, MAiD, grief and bereavement, or Advanced Care Planning.

To find out more information or book your speaker, please email: [email protected]

Recent speaking engagements have included:

• Care to Chat: From Long-Term Care to Lasting Comfort
• AgeCare Monashee Mews (Lumby)
• PROBUS Club
• Rotary

Library

Located in the Living Room at Hospice House, the lending library is open to the public. Materials may be borrowed for up to three weeks. The lending library contains material covering a variety of topics including:

• Caregiver Information on caring for someone who is dying
• Loss and Grief
• Bereavement
• Child and teen grief
• Hospice palliative care

Due to COVID-19 protocols, outside visitors are not able to access the library directly at this time. If you would like to inquire about a book that you are looking for or seeking suggestions, please email our Education and Resource Leader, Clara Dyck, at [email protected].

At NOHS we recognize the deep commitment to care our family caregivers have for their loved one who has a life limiting illness. We want to support these caregivers to provide the best possible care they can.

To do this, we are directing caregivers to the caregiver resource of Virtual Hospice ‘CaregiversCAN’ Here you can access a CareHub and Symptoms & Health Concerns. There are also short videos to show caregivers how to do practical tasks that are often required when caregiving. These range from how to move safely from a bed to a wheelchair or how to make a bed with someone in it.

As caregivers are caring for someone who’s health is changing, there is potential for the experience of anticipatory loss. Our in house support worker provide one to one support for those experiencing anticipatory loss.

IHA Caring for People Living with Advancing Illness 

Caregiver Decision Guide 

Understanding Palliative Care by Covenant Health’s Palliative Institute

Caring for Someone at Home

Mouth Care

Caring for Hair and Face

Bathing

Toileting

For a full suite of practical supports please go to CaregiversCAN

This website has

• Strategies for difficult conversations
• Video demonstrations of caregiving tasks
• Guidance for recognizing and managing symptoms
• Suggestions for accessing programs and services
• Ways to care for yourself

Last Days & Moments

“How Long Have I Got?” We often hear people ask “How Long Do they Have?” We do not know when people will die. We will see signs that they are getting closer to death and our Carestaff share these observation with the family and loved ones, prepare and support the client, family and loved one’s through this journey. This article speaks further to this very important question.

Physical Changes

Confusion

Constipation

Dehydration

Depression

Fatigue 

Lack of Appetite & Loss of Weight

Nausea and Vomiting

Pain

Shortness of Breath

Spiritual and Cultural Support

After Death

Care of the Body

At Hospice House, we treat our clients with respect, care and kindness after death.  After death, we care for the body, wash, dress and position the person in comfort. Family is given all they time they need to say their respects and visit. When the family and loved ones are ready, we light our Butterfly Lamp.

Rituals at Hospice

We have a Butterfly Lamp on the mantle in the Living Room of our House. After a client dies, we have a tradition of lighting this lamp and keeping it lit for 24 hours. This enables families, loved ones, staff and volunteers to honour a resident’s life, to say thank-you to family for allowing us to care for them, and to bring to a close this particular relationship of care.

We welcome families and loved ones participation with us in this lamp-lighting and provide a booklet a variety of verses, blessings, prayers, etc as a resource. We will include families choice(s) in our ritual.

There is no obligation to participate in this lamp-lighting. We will light the lamp, on behalf of the loved one, regardless of the families decision.