Palliative Care Education Fund

• We will enrich the skills of professional end-of-life caregivers and community members in Saskatoon through the development of an End-of-Life Education Fund to support ongoing education.

End-of-life care is a relatively young field with the first modern use of “hospice” appearing in 1967. There is still much to learn about care delivered in a hospital, at home or in a hospice setting, and we commit to supporting the ongoing education of our health care practitioners.

The End-of-Life Education Fund will:

• increase the number of Saskatoon and area physicians with focused training and specialized competence in end-of-life care;
• enrich opportunities for staff and direct care providers to be more comfortable and confident with end-of-life care concepts, especially the care needs of patients and families;
• build networks of end-of-life caregivers and volunteers who advance learning, build peer support, and enhance caregiver recruitment;
• promote community advocacy and support for Palliative Care and Hospice Care for all individuals.

The Fund will support:

• the development of an End-of-life Care Symposium;
• concentrated professional development opportunities and immersion support for physicians;
• enhanced professional development opportunities for staff, physicians and caregivers, such as the Learning Essential Approaches to Palliative Care (Leap) course and the Palliative Care Medical Intensive Course at Victoria Hospice.