Palliative Care Centre

Mission

To promote the highest quality of life for Veterans, Military, First Responders and community patients facing the final stage of a terminal illness.

Vision

McDermott House Canada will set the standard for premier end-of-life care in Canada.

Palliative Care

The heart of palliative care is compassion. With expertise in pain and symptom management, and working from a holistic perspective, the interprofessional team at McDermott House Canada’s Palliative Care Unit in the Veteran Centre will provide comfort and care to enrich the quality of life for those who are at the end stage of a terminal illness.

Those who work on the palliative care team have a special sensitivity and training; and are committed to addressing the physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their loved ones.

Our Goals

The goals of McDermott House Canada, together with the palliative care team, are:

• To provide pain and symptom management.
• To offer emotional, social and spiritual care to patients and their loved ones, while respecting diverse cultures, values and beliefs.
• To create an environment that enables the patient and family members to make informed choices and to develop the best possible plan for care.
• To provide the optimum quality of life for patients and their loved ones.

It is often difficult for families to try to find a balance between spending time with their loved ones and commitments at home and work. To assist with this concern, an office space will be created to allow access to a computer, printer, phone and webcam. This will also allow both patients and their family members to facilitate communications with relatives and loved ones who are unable to visit or live out of the country.

McDermott House Canada will also include a welcoming space that can be used for social gatherings. Often, families are unable to take their loved ones out of the Palliative Care Unit, and this space will allow for private celebrations of birthdays or other significant events.

Counseling

The palliative care team ensures a broad range of services is available to tmeet the needs of the patients and their families. These services include counseling and pyschosocial support.

Setting

The unit will be located on the first floor of K Wing where large picture windows overlook tall pine trees and the beauty of mother nature.