Why Neshama Hospice?
Capacity
There is an urgent need for end-of-life care in our community for those who seek care outside of an acute hospital setting, in an environment that reflects their values and in a warm, home-like setting. There are very few hospice residences in Toronto and none in North York. Demand exceeds capacity, making this type of care inaccessible for too many. The demand for access to more end-of-life care options could reach crisis levels due to a rapidly ageing population.
Appropriate Care Settings
The pandemic was a stark illustration of the most difficult way to die- in a hospital bereft of family and autonomy. We must do better.
Approximately 49% of Ontarians who had a palliative care designation die in a hospital acute care setting.
Strengthening our Health-care System
Too many people die in an acute care hospital instead of a hospice residence, where they can receive exemplary end-of-life care, at half the cost of public health dollars. The cost of an acute hospital stay is $1100/day compared to $460/day for a hospice residence.
The provincially recognized standard for a strong palliative care system is 6-7 hospice residence beds per population of 100,000. There are fewer than 2 beds per 100,000 in Ontario and only .2 beds per 100,000 in the Central LHIN region.
In addition to providing end-of-life care to 250 people and their families a year, Neshama will also contribute to increased capacity in acute hospitals by redirecting end-of-life patients to a more appropriate hospice residence, for 50% less cost of an acute care bed. This will open up hospital beds, alleviating hallway medicine, visits to emergency departments and wait times.
End-of-life Resources
The World Health Organization defines palliative care as “an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial, and spiritual.”
End-of-life care is part of palliative care. It is the care one receives during the last part of their life, from the point at which it has become clear that the person is in a progressive state of decline.
Neshama Hospice is in the process of being built and therefore is not yet accepting patients. The following is a list of resources for those seeking end-of-life care.
Jewish Family and Child Service of Greater Toronto: The Jewish Hospice Program
The Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care, Sinai Health System
North York General Hospital Palliative Care
Dorothy Ley Hospice (Etobicoke)
Kensington Health (Toronto)
