Life and Death Matters

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Life and Death Matters

Healthcare education and resources for educators, caregivers and nurses. Supporting excellence in en

Developers of engaging, interactive, creative hospice, palliative and end-of-life care educational resources for practical nurses and personal support workers/nursing assistants. We have a particular interest in assisting practical nurses, health care workers and family caregivers and have assembled a family of educational resources for these students:

"Essentials in Hospice and Palliative Care: A Practical Resource for Every Nurse" is tailored specifically to practical nurses learning to provide care for the dying. In Canada, we have a text "Integrating a Palliative Approach: Essentials for Personal Support Workers"
For nursing assistants and their counterparts in the USA, we have "Integrating a Palliative Approach: Essentials for Nursing Assistants"

We strive to make learning interesting and teaching easier. Which is why we developed companion workbooks, free podcasts and free videos for students, and a free Instructor's Guide to help integrate this content into core curriculum. And of course, we will come to you with face to face presentations and workshops... let's talk.

09/12/2025

🟣 World Alzheimer’s Month is a call to awareness and action.

Right now, more than 770,000 people in Canada are living with dementia. By 2030, that number could reach 1 million and by 2050, it may exceed 1.7 million.

As PSWs, nurses, and educators, you already know: dementia care presents unique challenges for the person and family and is full of uncertainties. You see the quiet grief, the daily courage, the moments of connection that still shine through.

This month, we honour your work - and the lives of those living with dementia. Let’s raise awareness, challenge stigma, and advocate for stronger supports across Canada.

📖 Learn more from the Alzheimer Society of Canada’s latest report and projections: https://f.mtr.cool/ignolbvioa

09/11/2025

🧡 Truth and Reconciliation: A Call to Listen, Learn, and Act

Between 1867 and 1996, more than 140 federally run residential schools operated across Canada - removing Indigenous children from their families, languages, and cultures. Survivors courageously advocated for recognition, reparations, and accountability for the lasting harm caused.

Their efforts led to the Indian Residential Schools Settlement Agreement, formal apologies from the government, the creation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), and the founding of the National Centre for Truth and Reconciliation.

From 2008 to 2015, the TRC gathered thousands of stories and released 94 Calls to Action - concrete steps for governments, institutions, and individuals to redress the legacy of residential schools and advance reconciliation.

As PSWs, nurses, and educators, you are part of this journey. Whether through culturally safe care, trauma-informed education, or advocacy within your workplace, your actions matter.

📖 Explore the 94 Calls to Action: https://f.mtr.cool/xcvcawbqkh and reflect on how your work can support truth, dignity, and healing.

09/10/2025

🟣 Up to $35,440 in Funding for PSWs in Ontario

Ontario is investing in Personal Support Workers - with up to $35,440 in total funding available across training and employment phases.

Here’s how it works:

🎓 For PSW students
Up to $5,440 in Clinical Placement Support is available through participating employers and schools.

💼 For those entering or re-entering the workforce
Eligible PSWs may receive up to $30,000 in employment incentives if they:
🔹 Successfully complete a qualifying Ontario PSW program on or after April 1, 2023, and begin employment between April 1, 2023 and March 31, 2026, or
🔹 Previously trained as a PSW and haven’t worked in direct care for the past 12 months, and begin employment between November 18, 2024 and March 31, 2026
🔹 Commit to 12 months of full-time employment with a participating employer

Incentives include:
💰 Recruitment Incentive – $10,000 for a 12-month employment commitment
🚚 Rural, Remote and Northern Community Incentive – $10,000 for relocating to underserved areas
🧡 Underserved Community Incentive – $10,000 for working in priority locations

PSWs act now - you may be eligible for substantial funding to support your training and employment. This can help you to build a meaningful career while strengthening care across Ontario.

Educators, and healthcare professionals - help to guide learners and staff to access these supports designed to empower the next generation of caregivers to deliver compassionate, competent care where it’s needed most.

📖 Learn more: https://f.mtr.cool/cxmylqeiur

09/09/2025

What’s Known About Dying with Dementia

There is much we do know about dying with dementia - and that knowledge matters.

🧠 The overall trajectory will be one of decline.
🧠 Death is certain to occur.
🧠 Comorbidities - like infections, heart disease, or diabetes - can shape the path and complicate care.
🧠 In late-stage dementia, many medical interventions offer little benefit and may even cause distress.

For people who like to plan, it helps to know what to expect. Although there are many unknowns about dying with dementia, there are some things that we know, and with the help of a supportive team, learning those certainties might be helpful.

Your presence and knowledge can help families prepare, grieve, and find meaning in their loved one's final chapter.

👂Listen to Daphne Grossman, a seasoned palliative care provider, as she shares compelling examples from her work with dementia and chronic disease, emphasizing the importance of early conversations, symptom assessment tools, and the critical role of care partners and personal support workers: https://f.mtr.cool/ytkqkyitts

09/04/2025

Dying with dementia brings many unknowns.

When will death come? What will it look like? What decisions lie ahead? What other changes or illnesses might arise?

The trajectory of dementia often follows a slow or stuttering decline. Abilities fade gradually. Decision-making becomes impossible. Families may face years of caregiving - exhausted, grieving, and coping with layer upon layer of uncertainty.

For families and caregivers, this can feel unmanageable.
For PSWs, nurses, and educators, your presence matters. You can offer calm in the unknown - through patience, gentle guidance, and compassionate care.

📖 More information is available in our resources.

08/28/2025

🕯️ Grief is part of caregiving - and it deserves space.

Join Kath Murray, founder of Life and Death Matters, and Zelda Freitas, a seasoned social worker and educator, for a compassionate webinar hosted by SafeCare BC: Holding Space for Grief – Navigating Loss in Care Work.

In long-term and continuing care, grief often feels invisible or unacknowledged. This webinar offers a space to validate that loss, share strategies for emotional support, and explore how caregivers can care for themselves and each other.

Kath has spent decades advancing palliative care education across Canada. Her work - spanning textbooks, e-learning, and workshops - empowers PSWs, nurses, and educators to provide compassionate, culturally responsive care.

Zelda is a Clinical Senior Advisor with CIUSSS West-Central Montreal, Adjunct Professor at McGill University, and a founding member of the Caregiver Grief Connexion project. Her work spans psychosocial support, knowledge transfer, and advocacy for caregivers and older adults.

Together, Kath and Zelda offer insight, presence, and practical tools to help navigate loss in care work.

📅 Register now: https://f.mtr.cool/upqbqkckuf to be part of this meaningful conversation.

08/27/2025

🕰️ Time is Precious – But How It’s Experienced is What Matters.

Over the last few weeks, we’ve explored the importance of time in palliative care:
🩵 why should and how can PSWs, nurses, and families slow down in the final stages of life
🩵 how experiences of time shapes a palliative approach
🩵 taking time to build legacies that connect generations
🩵 how palliative care can help families reclaim quality time together.

Our latest blog, Making Time Matter, brings these reflections together. From presence and connection to legacy and meaning, this post captures the heart of what it means to care when time is limited. It’s a gentle invitation to slow down, listen deeply, and make space for what matters most.

📖 Read the full blog: https://f.mtr.cool/fwusexirax

08/26/2025

🌊 Grief is everywhere - but for Canada support is falling behind.

Unlike Australia, Ireland, and the UK, we have no national infrastructure to address the impact of grief - no coordinated approach, no robust institutions.

The Canadian Grief Alliance’s recent report highlights just how underdeveloped our approach is. In contrast, those countries have adopted a public health approach to grief, often expressed through the Irish Bereavement Care Pyramid.

This model recognises that everyone who grieves has needs - but not everyone needs specialist care. It offers tiered support: from everyday compassion in communities to professional counselling and therapeutic services. It’s scalable, compassionate, and rooted in real-world experience.

As PSWs, nurses, and educators, you know everyone grieves differently and it needs the right support. Canada deserves a framework and the infrastructure to support different levels of grief.

📖 Read the full article in The Tyee: https://f.mtr.cool/osxmbsnzqq and join the call for a national grief strategy.

08/21/2025

🕊️ “Grief can come in waves. It’s not something we get over - it’s something we learn to live with, to carry, and to integrate into daily life.

The Canadian Grief Alliance (CGA) calls for a national strategy to help support grief and build a stronger Cananda. Their Next Steps Action Plan lays out five urgent recommendations:
🔹 Launch community-based awareness campaigns
🔹 Build grief-informed services using a public health approach
🔹 Improve training for professionals and volunteers
🔹 Increase research and data collection
🔹 Establish a Canadian Centre for Grief to coordinate national policy

As PSWs, nurses, and educators, you are aware that grief is everywhere, but support is not. Compared to the UK, Australia, and Ireland, where models like the “Irish pyramid” guide tiered, compassionate care, Canada’s approach is patchwork at best.

It’s time to change that. Read the full article: https://f.mtr.cool/hljmvdxerd

08/20/2025

🌅 Hospice and Palliative Care: A Path to Quality Time

Hospice and palliative care doesn’t just support patients - they can create space for connection. By relieving pain, easing symptoms, and supporting emotional and spiritual needs, care teams help families step out from the pressure of “what’s next” and role of carer and into family connection and meaningful presence.

Imagine a peaceful morning spent reminiscing over old photos. Enjoying a cherished recipe together. Reading aloud from a favorite book. These aren't luxuries - they're what palliative care makes possible.

This kind of care honors time: not by adding more of it, but by making it matter.

Whether you're a nurse holding space, a PSW offering gentle presence, or a loved one sitting bedside - you're part of a compassionate community that transforms final days into deeply human ones.

08/19/2025

Legacy lives in personal stories we tell and retell. Photo albums. Handwritten letters. A recipe passed down with love-stained pages. These aren’t just keepsakes - they're time capsules of identity, connection, and care.

💬 Capture the history of a person with a serious illness with prompts like “What do you want future generations to know?” and “What’s a memory that still makes you smile?”

📚 Consider simple memory-making legacy projects - record a loved one's voice reading a favourite poem, encourage them to write a letter to unborn grandchildren, share photos with captions that reflect meaning, not just moments

Taking time to preserve stories and memories helps families to remember, stay close, connect with generations, and celebrate the person's identity.

Address

2958 Lamont Road
Saanichton, BC
V8M1W5

Telephone

+12506526781

Website

https://beacons.ai/lifeanddeathmatters

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