In Canada, we tend to use both ‘hospice’ and ‘palliative’ to refer to the same thing. HPC is an approach to care that is designed to provide comfort and relief of suffering at the end of life. It was adopted by the Canadian HPC Association to indicate the integration of care by many health care providers throughout a variety of settings from people’s homes to the palliative care unit in hospitals. The word “hospice” may also refer to a place of care.

• Helps address physical, psychological, social, spiritual and practical issues, and their associated expectations, needs, hopes and fears
• Helps prepare for and manage self-determined life closure and the dying process
• Helps individuals cope with loss and grief during the illness and bereavement (grieving)

• To treat all active issues
• To prevent new issues from occurring
• To promote opportunities for meaningful and valuable experiences, personal and spiritual growth, and self-actualization

For information about our palliative care services, see our Hospice Services

Bereavement is another word for grief. Palliative care services provide support for family members to work through their own emotions and grief regarding the death of their loved one. Bereavement support may begin when the grieving process starts. This may be before the death of the family member. It can be an important part of palliative care for people who may have faced many losses over a short period of time. The support needed while dealing with a loss is very individual and changes over time. For information regarding our various programs for all ages, including young children, visit our Grief Support page.

Thanks to the generous support of our community, our Thrift Store and other fund raising activities, we are able to offer our services at no cost. However, any donation large or small is appreciated and helps us to sustain our programs and services.

Individuals and families living with any life-threatening illness may benefit from palliative care. Many people who receive palliative care have cancer, but many are living with with advanced heart, respiratory and kidney disease, Alzheimer’s disease, AIDS, ALS and multiple sclerosis.

When a person living in the community of Peace Arch is diagnosed with an illness that may take his/her life, s/he is referred to the local Hospice Palliative Care Program. This program has a HPC interdisciplinary team that provides clinical skills to address pain and symptom management issues in an environment sensitive to the emotional, psychological and spiritual needs of the patients and their families. The Peace Arch Hospice Society is an integral member of this team.

Anyone. The first step is to call us and arrange to speak with one of our counsellors who will help you to identify what is needed.

Although we have no designated religious affiliation, we value the role of spiritual and religious care at the end of life as an important part of the journey of life. Each year people we have served through our programs are invited to attend a non-denominational Memorial Service where they may remember family members and friends who have passed away.

Yes. We were established in 1982 and our Charitable Registration number is 119297513RR0001.