The following is an open letter to the community in appreciation of its support for Hospice Orillia.
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As the Director of Operations and Communications for the North Simcoe Muskoka Hospice Palliative Care Network (NSMHPCN) it brings me great excitement to be able to write this letter today.
In the past 12 months, Hospice Orillia has experienced two major milestones as an organization: celebrating our 30th anniversary as well as being awarded accreditation from Hospice Palliative Care Ontario (HPCO).
As many of you may know, Hospice Orillia has been providing community-based hospice care since 1989. We offer practical, emotional and spiritual support to those in the community coping with advanced illness, death and bereavement. Our volunteers and staff serve clients and their loved ones of all ages and backgrounds with compassion and respect, while honouring their choices and supporting them through their life journey.
Our programs started out providing the basics of care in our client’s home. Now, 30 years later, we offer a wide variety of programs; including bereavement care, visiting volunteers, complementary therapy, legacy projects, pregnancy and infant loss support, just to name a few.
Hospice Orillia continues to build bridges for our clients navigating the healthcare system and we’re very grateful to be able to bring hospice palliative care into their homes, wherever they call home.
In 2019 alone, we saw the launch of numerous new programs, a revamped website, celebrated our 30th anniversary plus the launch of our new logo; we have seen changes which have enabled our support to expand exponentially. All of these changes represent our commitment to the community of Orillia and surrounding areas.
It makes me extremely proud to announce that we have received the Visiting Hospice level of accreditation. This was made possible by the dedication of our team of staff and volunteers expressed in completing the lengthy task of carrying out the HPCO accreditation process; which takes a minimum of 10 months and includes a rigorous review of overall performance by industry peers.
Accreditation serves as an indicator of our commitment to continuous learning and improvement and assures the delivery of consistent, high quality hospice palliative care. Everything from the screening of volunteers to data management to service delivery standards, were examined with a fine-tooth comb.
The evidence provided throughout the stringent HPCO accreditation process demonstrates that Hospice Orillia has strong governance, operational and service delivery processes in place.
Accreditation signifies to the public, health-care professionals, our volunteers and donors that our organization complies with industry standards. Completing an accreditation review with HPCO is an efficient and effective means of continuous learning and improvement and is something that not all are able to successfully complete.
Thanks to you, Hospice Orillia has remained an integral part of hospice palliative care in the community of Orillia and surrounding areas. With your continued support, the next generation of the Hospice Orillia team will also be able to continue to develop the skills needed to thrive in hospice care, foster community and become engaged advocates for hospice palliative care.
On behalf of our clients, and their loved ones, thank you for your continued support of the services we provide. To learn more about Hospice Orillia please visit us online at www.hospiceorillia.ca or call 705-325-0505.
Whitney Vowels
Director of Operations and Communications
North Simcoe Muskoka Hospice Palliative Care Network
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