Hospice Palliative Care Ontario

Today is the first day of Hospice Palliative Care Ontario’s annual three-day conference, and we are proud to kick things off with three important announcements.

First, we invite you to join us at tomorrow’s tribute luncheon in honour of our colleague and friend Dr. Larry Librach. We are proud to share this opportunity to celebrate Dr. Librach’s lifetime achievements and contributions to palliative care. Dr. Librach and his family will be in attendance.

Second, we are excited to announce the launch of the Dr. S. Lawrence Librach Award for Palliative Medicine in the Community, newly created by HPCO. The portion of all tribute luncheon tickets above the cost of the food will go toward this new award.

Finally, a reminder that we have launched a new “text to donate” fundraising program, in partnership with the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. All funds donated during the conference will go toward the Dr. S. Lawrence Librach Award.

Whether you’re joining us at this year’s conference, or following us online, we invite you to support this new initiative and celebrate the achievements of one of the leaders in our field.

We are very pleased to announce that we have launched a new “text to donate” fundraising program in partnership with the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association. Simply text “hospice” to 20222 to make a $10.00 donation to our organizations ($5.00 benefits Hospice Palliative Care Ontario, and $5.00 benefits the CHPCA).

Visit our about page to learn more about the work we do with your support. Please take a moment to donate today, and to spread the word among your friends and loved ones. We appreciate your support!

Hospice Palliative Care Ontario is pleased to announce that Mr. Michael Enright has accepted the appointment as Patron of the June Callwood Circle of Outstanding Volunteers. Mr. Enright, a fellow journalist and long-time personal friend of June Callwood, was thrilled to receive the appointment. Michael will present the awards at future inductions. For this year, because of a long-standing prior engagement in another province, Michael will address the recipients by video.

Michael Enright

“Michael Enright has been the host of CBC Radio One’s The Sunday Edition since September 2000,” reads his CBC biography. “Enright’s journalistic credits are impressive. Prior to joining The Sunday Edition, he hosted This Morning for three years, and he spent ten years hosting CBC Radio’s As It Happens.

“Enright’s innovative approach to the coverage of world events established As It Happens as a program that breaks through the boundaries of standard news broadcasting. He joined As It Happens after two-and-a-half years as managing editor of CBC Radio News. Prior to that, he held a number of important editorial positions with leading Canadian magazines and newspapers.

We are very pleased to announce that the Hon. Deb Matthews, Minister of Health and Long-Term Care, will be speaking at the Annual Hospice Palliative Care Ontario Conference on Monday, April 29, 2013.

Minister Matthews will be speaking about hospice palliative care and the various initiatives underway at a provincial and LHIN level.

The conference has something for every audience, including a range of captivating keynote speakers and a comprehensive syllabus for you to choose from. Please visit the program page of our website for more information.

Rick Firth, Executive Director of HPCO, formally accepts the first donation cheque from the Toronto Commandery, as presented by John Rogers of the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem

On Friday, February 15, 2013, our friends and colleagues at the Sovereign Order of St. John of Jerusalem celebrated their organization’s nine hundredth anniversary at a ceremony held at Grace Church-on-the-Hill in Toronto.

Following the service, attendees traveled to the Badminton & Racquet Club Dining Room for a celebratory dinner. Hospice Palliative Care Ontario’s Executive Director, Rick Firth, gave an inspiring talk at the dinner, discussing the value of HPCO and its emerging relationship with the Toronto Commandery.

As part of the dinner, Rick formally accepted the Commandery’s first donation cheque to HPCO. Please join us in giving them our warmest thanks for their support!

Don’t forget that you have until 5:00 PM today to submit your nominations for the following awards, which will be presented at this year’s conference. Please visit our official award page for details, links and forms.

• The Hospice Palliative Care Ontario Outstanding Philanthropist Award (nomination form and details available for download in PDF format)
• The Dorothy Ley Award of Excellence in Hospice Palliative Care (nomination form and details available for download in PDF format)
• The Marilyn Lundy Hospice Palliative Care Award (sponsored by the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care, Mount Sinai Hospital; nomination form and details available for download in PDF format)
• The Joan Lesmond Scholarship, (nomination form available online, details available for download in PDF format)

Many thanks to those of you who have already submitted your nominations. We look forward to honouring your best and brightest at this year’s conference!

Accreditation for visiting hospice services will once again be presented at Hospice Palliative Care Ontario’s annual conference. This year’s accreditation presentation will be held on Sunday, April 28, 2013.

Hospices wishing to receive their accreditation certificate at the conference must make sure to submit their accreditation workbook and board certification to HPCO no later than Friday, March 29, 2013.

For more information, please be sure contact Paula Neil, our Director of Operations, at (416) 304-1477 ext. 27 or pneil@hpco.ca.

Don’t forget that due to a deadline extension, you have until 5:00 PM on Friday, March 15, 2013 to submit your nominations for the following awards, which will be presented at this year’s conference. Please visit our official award page for details, links and forms.

• The Hospice Palliative Care Ontario Outstanding Philanthropist Award (nomination form and details available for download in PDF format)
• The Dorothy Ley Award of Excellence in Hospice Palliative Care (nomination form and details available for download in PDF format)
• The Marilyn Lundy Hospice Palliative Care Award (sponsored by the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care, Mount Sinai Hospital; nomination form and details available for download in PDF format)

A reminder that the nomination deadline for the Joan Lesmond Scholarship, which was already 5:00 PM on Friday, March 15, 2013, has not changed. The nomination form for this scholarship is available online, and details are available for download in PDF format.