Resources Recommended By Our Registered Nurses
Tara Laskowski
Registered Nurse,
Hamilton Family Health Team
If you have urgent questions about Medical Assistance in Dying, MAiD information is also available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through the Ontario MAiD Care Coordination Service information line at 1-866-286-4023.
End of life/ Advanced Care Planning
Advance care planning is a process of thinking and communicating. You make an advance care plan to let others know what is most important to you in life, and the kind of care you would want if something happened to you and you couldn’t communicate or make decisions for yourself later. When you share your advance care plan with your family and friends you help them feel confident that they could make the right decisions for you if they ever had to.
Making an advance care plan involves thinking about what matters most to you, and how this may affect the kind of health care you would want to receive. It is NOT about planning for every single health problem that could happen. Advance care planning is for everyone at every stage of life.
Here are some questions to think about when you are making an advance care plan:
- What makes your life meaningful?
- What do you value most about your health?
- If you were sick, what would be important for others to know?
- When you think about dying, what do you worry about?
Once you have answered these questions, you are well on your way to having an advance care plan! You can find these questions and others in the advance care planning workbook on the “Speak Up” website. You will also want to review your advance care plan regularly to make sure it is still accurate and up-to-date. Remember to share your wishes with your family or friends, and your healthcare team any time they change.
Explore the Speak Up website for more helpful information. Here are a few things to get you started:
Conversation starters for advance care planning
Advance care planning frequently asked questions – this webpage tells you what advance care planning is, who should make an advance care plan, and more
Powers of Attorney
A POA is a legal document that gives someone else the right to make decisions on your behalf when you are unable to make them for yourself. In Ontario there are 3 different types of POA. A POA for personal care (POAPC) covers personal decisions, like healthcare. In your POAPC you can name someone you trust to be your substitute decision maker (SDM). Your SDM will make decisions about your health and personal care if you are to unwell to manage these things for yourself. They make these decisions based on the values and wishes you have shared with them.
What is a living will?
A living will is a record you create (usually a written document, but could be a video recording) to tell others what you would want in the future if you were unable to make personal and healthcare decisions for yourself. Ontario law does not currently use the term “living will”. People may use the term “advance directive” to refer to a written statement about their wishes for future care.
What is the difference between a POA and an advance care plan?
POAs and advance care plans are alike, but there are some important differences:
- A POA is a legal paper that names a specific person (SDM) to act on your behalf.
- An advance care plan is a process of thinking about and communicating broad guidelines to others about the kind of care you might want if you can’t speak or act on your own behalf. It may include a written statement of wishes, or an “advance directive”, but it does not have to.
Learn more about the different POAs, advance directives, and “living wills” by following the “Access Links” on these pages:
Palliative Care in Hamilton
The goal of palliative care is to improve the quality of life of individuals and their families when they are facing a life-threatening illness. You may also hear it called “hospice care”. Hospice is also a place or building where people can stay at the end of their lives to receive palliative care.
Good palliative care provides relief from pain and other distressing physical symptoms (i.e. nausea or trouble breathing). It pays close attention to people’s emotional, spiritual, psychological, and practical needs. Palliative approaches to care do not aim to speed up death or extend living, but they do help people enjoy the time they have left to live, and plan for death as a natural and normal part of being alive.
Palliative approaches to care are helpful anytime someone has been diagnosed with any serious, life threatening illness (not just cancer!). They are not just for the final days and hours of life. They are helpful when used with treatments that are sometimes given to extend life, like chemotherapy, surgery and radiation.
Every member of the healthcare team can offer individuals and their families palliative approaches to care. Palliative care happens in many places, including: doctor’s offices, hospitals, hospices, prisons, long term care homes, retirement homes and even your home if that is right for you and your family.
Some people will decide that a hospice is the best place for them to stay and receive palliative care as they near the end of their lives.
There are four places in Hamilton with hospice care beds. Several of these places also offer palliative care programs and services that people can enjoy while they are still living at home. You are welcome to use these services even if you do not think you would want to stay in the Hospice in the future.
Dr. Bob Kemp Hospice Centre for Palliative Care
Good Shepherd Centre – Emmanuel House
Hospice – St Joseph’s Villa – Margaret’s Place Hospice
Resources for Health Care Professionals
For more information or to reach the MAiD Community Outreach Team, please contact maid.inquiries@hamiltonfht.ca or leave a message at 905-667-4848 ext. 340.
OCEAN eReferral Link: https://oceanhealthmap.ca/?rtRef=hamilton_family_heal-545673
| Title | Summary | Last Modified | Tags | Link | hf:doc_tags |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| HNHB Palliative Care Outreach Team PCOT Referral Form Hamilton | … | 4 December 2024 | |||
| HFHT MAID FAQs Track 1 2023 | … | 8 November 2024 | |||
| HFHT MAID FAQs TRACK 2 2023 | … | 8 November 2024 | |||
| Clinician Aid A C7 | … | 8 November 2024 | |||
| MAiD care pathway 2022.3 | … | 8 November 2024 | |||
| Clinician Aid B (1) | … | 8 November 2024 | |||
| Clinician Aid C (2) | … | 8 November 2024 |