Guide
How It Begins: Community Leaders recognize the benefit of interdisciplinary collaboration and improved communication among existing agencies and community service providers.
The Goal: Full utilization of the existing knowledge and skills of all community members in collaboration with established best practices to develop a cohesive and inclusive standard of care that keeps the needs of the dying person (and those who love them) at the centre of care.
The Guidance: Home Hospice Association demonstrates that end of life care is possible; in a non-institutionalized environment; which may come as relief if your community has held back trying to establish your own hospice because of the estimated $10,000,000.00 needed to build a building, with beds.
Home Hospice Association works directly with a Municipality to establish the relationship with your community and provide guidance:
Environmental Scan
-
Learn history of Municipality’s approach to end of life care to gauge potential level of engagement
-
Minimize risk of abdication of responsibilities
-
-
Determine level of interest and assess spirit of collaboration
-
Determine plan of introduction to other players in the community who may weigh in on feasibility
Feasibility & Focus
-
Analyze full service model that may start to tie together with existing Health Care & Social Justice Agencies
-
Complete Community Stake Holder Map
-
Initiate one on one meetings with all who have been identified in Stakeholder Map
-
Co-Facilitate Service Club and Faith Community Presentations
-
Co-host Town Hall Meeting
Preparation and Planning
-
Assist in the writing of the first Business Plan; Strategic Plan & Operations Plan
-
Provide resources such as sample first year Budget and Budgeting Handbook
-
Assist in location search and co-present their mission and vision if an in-kind Sponsorship for the physical operations centre is being considered
-
Assist in the writing of Marketing & Fundraising Plans (for the purpose of presenting to the community the services now available and the ways in which the community may financially support the services)
-
Provide resources for the creation of Service Packages that will be used to solidify the process of Patient Intake
-
Provide resources for the establishment of formal relationships with care providers (professional & volunteer)
-
Assist in determining what staff will be required and ensure the budget is adjusted accordingly
-
Provide samples of job descriptions and Not For Profit standards for remuneration
-
Assist in the creating of recruiting ads and associated collateral
-
Assist, if necessary, in the interview process
-
-
Provide Resources such as a performance indicator Dashboard, connected to short term and long term indicators of success and sustainability
“How we care for the sick and dying is surely a litmus test of our humanity. Just as we fight for equality in life, we should fight for equality in death.” - Bono from the Rock Band U2