Home Support in Renfrew County
Carefor Pembroke Community Hospice Program located in the Northwestern section of the Champlain Health Region supports palliative clients through their visiting programs. Trained volunteers – there are about 72 – visit for 3 to 4 hours weekly or more as needed. The clientele is primarily elderly, usually retired, living on their own, in retirement residences or in long-term care. In addition to the visiting programs, other services include a medical loan cupboard, transportation to medical appointments and delivery of frozen meals.
Alice Grenon manages the Community Hospice Program for Carefor Pembroke. She and her team go out of their way to meet the needs of their clients. The first time they wanted to provide a hospital bed loan to a client, they begged the services of the local fire department to move the bed into the client’s home. While this “quick to help” attitude is typical of the community, it’s not sustainable to meet the demand for hospital bed loans. Since then, the Community Hospice Program has partnered with Cassidy’s Moving and Storage – a long-standing Pembroke company to deliver and store the beds.
Carefor Pembroke would never want personal finances to be a barrier to accessing necessary services at a time of crises. OutCare is pleased to help, most recently in November 2021 with a grant of $3,300 to fund delivering hospital beds to patients’ homes. The grant represents 10 families who would benefit from the delivery and eventual removal of hospital beds enabling their loved ones not only to die at home, but to do so in comfort and safety. Moreover, hospital beds make it physically easier for caregivers – usually family members – to tend to their loved ones.
For more information on how Carefor Pembroke supports palliative care in the community, go to facebook.com/careforRC/.
