The People of Primary Care
Demystifying death, dying and bereavement with a Palliative Care Clinical Coach
Welcome to our new series, The People of Primary Care: the human stories behind the healthcare you receive at your doctor’s office or healthcare hub.
Please introduce yourself.
My name is Mary Cochrane, and I’m a Palliative Care Clinical Coach.
What is a Palliative Care Clinical Coach?
I assist the Ontario Palliative Care Network (OPCN), working in conjunction with Ontario Health who has developed an action plan to improve Palliative Care across Ontario. The Palliative Care Health Services Delivery Framework is intended to “improve equitable access for patients and caregivers and ensure that they are able to receive the holistic, proactive, timely and continuous care and support they need through the entire spectrum of care”.
My role, supported through the Hamilton Family Health Team, is to connect with all the various health care providers, organizations, and facilities in this region to assess knowledge and practice gaps related to palliative care, help build primary level palliative care competencies, strengthen connections to local supports and existing successful programs, and provide direction for any educational needs identified.
What brought you to this profession?
It has always been in me to want to help people. To make their day better especially when they are feeling sick, scared or alone. I have personally witnessed the deficiencies in our healthcare system. It can very often leave people feeling dehumanized. This has motivated and strengthened my resolve to help improve and advocate for better care and conversations and is why I wanted to become a nurse.
The Hamilton Family Health Team, as a trusted collaborative of healthcare professionals, has given me the platform to reach more healthcare providers in the community thereby facilitating a larger scale impact.
What brings you joy in your role?
I enjoy getting to know people and hearing the stories they are willing to share related to palliative care, dying, death and bereavement. For many, it is a subject that makes people feel uncomfortable and is therefore avoided. I am honoured to play a part in demystifying, prioritizing, and normalizing these discussions. I feel passionately about the need for us as healthcare providers to offer earlier support and real and honest conversations with patients and families to help them understand and prepare for the future in case things don’t go as they hope.
Where can we find you if you are not in the office?
I love going for walks, especially in the winter when there is snow!
I also love Karaoke!
Anything else you’d like to share?
I cannot stress the importance of beginning a palliative approach to care earlier. Why should we wait until the end to give the best care possible? So many people do not know that their illness is progressive and incurable so when they get to the end, they are surprised and shocked. For the person and their family, it may seen like a sudden death experience even though it has been going the course for many years.
Sometimes the very best medication that the healthcare system can offer is communication. Less than 60% of Ontarians in their last year of life receive palliative care and about half of the people in their last 30 days of life receive home care services. Despite people’s preference to die at home with appropriate support, more than half of the deaths in Ontario occur in hospitals. We need to do better and we must do better!