By Monica Do Coutto Monni
Executive Director, Near North Palliative Care Network
The Near North Palliative Care Network is a registered charity in Northeastern Ontario, Canada, serving the area for 34 years, since 1987. As the designated volunteer visiting hospice of Nipissing/Parry Sound Districts, the organization provides one-stop, face-to-face, and online services, such as: a visiting hospice that provides palliative care, caregiver’s respite and support, bereavement and grief support sessions (individual and group), and training and education for all aspects of ageing and end of life. Services are free of charge.
NNPCN main office is in North Bay, with satellite teams in three regions: Sturgeon Falls (West Nipissing region), Mattawa Region, and Sundridge (Almaguin region). NNPCN is accredited by Hospice Palliative Care Ontario. Last year, during the pandemic, about 100 volunteers served 4,483 people. NNPCN is the organizer of the local Winter Conference for Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Education of frontline health care professionals.
NNPCN’s mission is to enhance the comfort, dignity, and quality of life of individuals with a terminal illness, and to offer bereavement support throughout the community. Its vision is that every resident of Northeastern Ontario can experience their end-of-life with dignity and comfort, pain-free, and with physical, psychological, social, and spiritual support provided to them wherever they may be living: in hospital, hospices, long-term care facilities, or at home. NNPCN supports a decentralized model of palliative caregiving, going to where the client is.
NNPCN core values are: human dignity, compassion, social responsibility, community service, and excellence. The organization values quality of care, work-life balance, and ongoing education and training. Our operating principles are: serving individuals with a life-limiting illness, putting family and caregivers are at the centre of care, and offering compassionate listening. Companioning, nonjudgmental support, confidentiality, and professionalism are part of the package.
Near North Palliative Care Network joined the IAHPC as a member for life because of the admirable contribution of the IAHPC to the international forum of hospice palliative care.
Among its many other outstanding contributions, the IAHPC is one of the strongest and most vibrant palliative care advocacy voices in the global community. The NNPCN team believes that, by joining forces with the IAHPC, and under the extraordinary leadership of Liliana de Lima and Katherine Pettus, it will be possible to bring a stronger advocacy voice to the needs the vulnerable people in Canada, especially those living in communities with the most need, such as the subarctic regions in Ontario and elsewhere.
By doing so, NNPCN also hopes to leave its small contribution to the advancement of the cause of hospice palliative care worldwide, toward better and more services, free of charge, made available to all vulnerable communities.
Learn more about Near North Palliative Care Network, listed in the IAHPC Global Directory of Palliative Care Institutions and Organizations.
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