Hospice Quinte’s 2019-2020 annual report was released electronically today. The report highlights the achievements and significant growth the organization has made over its 35 years of serving Quinte. It demonstrates the positive impact that Hospice Quinte’s palliative care and bereavement support services have on our community, and the incredible importance of the upcoming construction of the Hospice Quinte Care Centre.
A snapshot of what hospice palliative care looks like nationally, provincially, and locally is provided. It shows the significance of organizations, like Hospice Quinte, in fulfilling the wishes of individuals to spend their final days at home. “Statistics show us that 67% of Canadians and 52% of Ontarians die in hospital, but here in Quinte, only 24% of our clients died in hospital,” says Hospice Quinte Executive Director, Jennifer May-Anderson. “We were able to help 61% of our clients spend their final days at home with their loved ones which is a fantastic result.”
Due to ongoing physical distancing restrictions, Hospice Quinte’s traditional Annual General Meeting was also held electronically this year. Information for the general business portion of the meeting was distributed to Hospice Quinte’s membership via email, and instead of voting in person, an online voting period was held.
The Hospice Quinte Board of Directors re-elected Bill MacKay as President, Kim Lander was elected as Vice President, Karinda Dockrill as Treasurer and Stan Dafoe as Secretary. Susan Barberstock, Lisa Campbell, Martha Griffin, Shari Pinault and Jeff Tureski are returning as Directors. It was also announced that Directors, Darcey French, Sue Thoms and Janice Coulter would be retiring from the board.
“I would like to sincerely thank each of the retiring board members for their generous contributions, dedicated service and advocacy for our organization, the Hospice Quinte Care Centre and hospice palliative care in our community,” says May-Anderson. “I would also like to recognize our volunteers and staff for allowing Hospice Quite to achieve our 35th successful year of caring for the community, despite the unexpected changes our lives and communities were faced with in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic,” she adds.
Hospice Quinte recently completed the public tendering phase of its future building project on May 21. The Hospice Quinte Care Centre is slated to open its doors in Fall 2021 and will provide no-cost, 24/7 care by a highly skilled multi-disciplinary team of physicians and allied health care providers who will focus on pain management and providing the greatest quality of life possible for those nearing end of life.
To view Hospice Quinte’s 2019-2020 Annual Report online, please click here.