{"id":8176,"date":"2014-09-17T15:58:42","date_gmt":"2014-09-17T19:58:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/?p=8176"},"modified":"2014-10-01T14:47:19","modified_gmt":"2014-10-01T18:47:19","slug":"view-from-queens-park-hospice-groups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/view-from-queens-park-hospice-groups\/","title":{"rendered":"VIEW FROM QUEEN’S PARK: Hospice Groups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hospice Groups take care to a new level in Aurora and Newmarket
\nBy Chris Ballard, MPP
\nNewmarket-Aurora<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the greatest gifts I receive as an MPP is the honour of meeting members of our community who give of themselves in order to improve the lives of others. In the months ahead, I hope to chronicle some of those unique people and groups.
\nAt the annual general meeting last week of Doane House Hospice, I was reminded of the importance of volunteerism in making our community such a special place to live.
\nI was reminded of the compassion, vision, dedication and quality care provided our residents by volunteers and a handful of staff, who run the hospice on a shoestring budget
\nDoane House Hospice is celebrating its 25th anniversary of providing hospice care. Aurora is doubly blessed with two hospices serving the needs of those facing terminal or chronic illness. North Aurora and Newmarket are served by Doane House Hospice. South of Wellington Street, residents are served by Hospice King-Aurora. Incredibly, Hospice King-Aurora has served those in need for 31 years.
\nBoth organizations offer their services for free and rely on the funding kindness of individual and corporate donors to keep their doors open.
\nDiscussing end-of-life care is never a pleasant topic. I\u2019ve had the discussion too many times with family members and close friends. But, while death is inevitable, how we choose to live our days with a life threatening illness is very much up to us.
\nThis is where community-based hospice can be of great assistance.
\nDoane House Hospice \u201cpromotes living every moment, and offers individuals diagnosed with a life threatening illness compassion, support and hope,\u201d says the organization.
\n\u201cOur programs and services are designed to support the individual by meeting their emotional, spiritual and physical needs. This gives the individual the ability to make the right decisions for their care through being able to navigate the system, access the right care at the right time, and help support their family and friends through caregiver relief and bereavement.\u201d
\nBoth hospices have volunteers trained and supported by professionals. Between the two groups, more than 230 people volunteer their time to provide support and service to our community.
\nBoth groups say volunteers come from all walks of life and vary in age, cultural background, faith, gender and careers. Some have experienced the loss of a loved one and the experience has changed their lives. Some volunteer because they want to do something meaningful. Some just like to help people.
\nWhatever the reason, volunteering with a hospice will enrich, if not change, your life.
\nAn important fact about hospice care: Ninety per cent of Canadians say they want to remain in their own homes during the final stages of life, but 94 per cent of caregivers say they cannot cope without help \u2013 the kind of help hospice volunteers and staff provide.
\nWhat, exactly, do both hospices do?
\nHospice King-Aurora offers five core services including an in-home visiting program where professionally trained and supported volunteers offer non-medical services to individuals living with life-threatening illness and their families. Wellness programs provide services that promote health and well-being, and a post-cancer program called \u201cPicking up the Pieces.\u201d Adult caregivers can take advantage of group support and wellness programs.
\nSupport is available to children and teens coping with the serious illness of a family member. Group and one-on-one support and wellness programs are available to children, teens and adults coping with the death of a family member or friend. Education and awareness programs focus on seminars and workshops on issues of hospice palliative care, grief bereavement and family caregiving.
\nAt Doane House Hospice, core services are similar, and include a bereavement program, caregiver support, mind-body connection and visiting volunteers. Doane House Hospice is also known for its art therapy, where \u201cspontaneous art making has profound healing effects for families impacted by a life-threatening illness.\u201d The group\u2019s Oasis Program offers a place where those facing life-threatening illness can \u201ctake refuge from the world\u201d to relax and refresh.
\nPerhaps the best way to learn about the two hospices, and the hospice movement, is to visit their websites and read the stories told by clients and families. I hope you will be inspired to support the organizations, either through a gift of money, time or both.
\nYou will meet some wonderfully dedicated volunteers, and staff who make a significant difference in our community.
\nThey are heroes.
\nTo learn more, contact Doane House Hospice at 905-967-0259, and Hospice King-Aurora at 905-727-6815. Both have websites with lots more information<\/p>\n

Contact MPP Chris Ballard at his Community Office: 905-750-0019, or by email: cballard.mpp.co@liberal.ola.org. Chris\u2019 office is located in Suite 201, 14845 Yonge St., Aurora L4G 6H8. Office hours are 8.30 a.m. \u2013 4.30 p.m., Monday to Friday.
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Hospice Groups take care to a new level in Aurora and Newmarket By Chris Ballard, MPP Newmarket-Aurora One of the greatest gifts I receive as an MPP is the honour of meeting members of our community who give of themselves in order to improve the lives of others. In the months ahead, I hope to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[26],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8176","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-archive"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3D2k4-27S","publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-15 01:31:24","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8176","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=8176"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8176\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=8176"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=8176"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newspapers-online.com\/auroran\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=8176"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}