Hamilton’s Healthcare and Aging Baby- BOOM Crisis!

On the evening of April 24th, I attended a session held by CARDUS, a self described “think Tank” on the topic of End of Life Care - Natural Death.

On the CARDUS website, they are more specifically characterized as follows: "a think tank dedicated to the renewal of North American social architecture. Drawing on more than 2000 years of Christian social thought, we work to enrich and challenge public debate through research, events, and publications, for the common good.”

The session began with a general overview of CARDUS and its research within the City of Hamilton. This was followed by two panel discussions. The first panel was chaired by Doug Sikkema, Lead Researcher, CARDUS. Panelists included Dr. Joshua Shadd, McMaster University Director (Division of Palliative Care), Clare Freeman, Director (The Bob Kemp Hospice), and Rev. Bill DeJong, Pastor (Blessings Church) in Hamilton.

The second panel was chaired by Ray Pennings, Executive Vice President CARDUS, and included three MPPs: Sam Oosterhoff (PC) - MPP Niagara West-West Glanbrook, John Fraser (LIB)- MPP Ottawa South, and France Gelinas (NDP) - MPP Nickle Belt.

Doug Sikkema referenced Ontario’s Palliative Care Bill 184, a private members bill, which was spearheaded by MPP Sam Oosterhoff. Both MPP John Fraser, the Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health, and MPP France Gelinas, the NDP Health Critic, are strong supporters of Bill 184 and palliative care.

The evening’s focus was on an April 2018 Case Study by Doug Sikkema of CARDUS Health entitled “HAMILTON A Look at the End-of-Life-Care Landscape”. The Case Study revealed that for the first time in history, Hamilton has more seniors than it does children, and thus the City of Hamilton is facing an end-of-life healthcare crisis.

Wait lists in hospitals and for placements into Long-Term-Care Nursing Homes, and Pallative Care Homes, have been an issue for some time in the Hamilton area. Left unchecked, the situation will worsen with the expected tripling of the population requiring these services over the next twenty years, with the aging of baby boomers.

Cadus reports that In Canada, between 2005 and 2036, those 65 and over will increase from 4.2 million to 9.8 million which will mean a doubling of the annual expected deaths. CARDUS’s is looking at ways to address and support a Natural Death, and dying in dignity.

The panel discussions centered on end of life care and how a natural death can be better accommodated through providing a continuum of care that incorporates options that are more appropriate than dying in hospital, for those whose conditions can no longer be treated.

CARDUS studied two major cities in Ontario, Hamilton and Ottawa. The results of the study determined that 75% of Canadians want to die at home, however 70% end up dying in hospitals. The research looked at three areas 1) Social Dynamic, 2) Social Architecture, and 3) Continuum of Care.

Discussions also centered around the need for more hospice care, and better responding to the needs of the person who is dying, as well as the needs of their loved ones. Beyond cost considerations and the fact that remaining in hospital when treatment options have been exhausted, is much more expensive than hospice care, the quality of care that can be offered in a hospice setting was seen to be much more appropriate and dignified. The role that communities must continue to play, was recognized as a key component, in addition to government support and funding.

The current provincial funding model only works for wealthier communities, as hospices rely on hefty community donations and ongoing fundraising to be build and operate. The panels and audience struggled with the challenges behind providing such care to all parts of the province, particularly where communities are not large and are not wealthy communities. Such disparities were particularly difficult to accept.

Throughout the evening several reports were referenced, including the 2016 Palliative and End-of-Life Care Provincial Roundtable Report that MPP John Fraser released under his portfolio as Parliamentary Assistant to the Minister of Health and Long-Term Care. Other reports and hand-outs were made available by CARDUS, and included: Death is Natural (Reframing the End-of-Life Conversation in Canada) 2015, and the CARDUS magazine Comment - Public Theology for the Common Good, which looked at “Health Beyond the Hospital”.

Cardus Healthalso issued a Press Release on April 25, 2018, “Hamilton Unready For Rising End-Of-Life Care Needs, Case Study Finds

Overall it was a very well-run session with thoughtful discussion and respectful discourse. It is a topic that ought to be of concern to all of us who, as we continue as an aging society, will face end of life decisions. It should be of particular interest to Hamilton who positions itself as the best place to raise a child and to age.

For more information, visit the CARDUS website at www.cardus.ca:

Teresa DiFalco, 

Publisher, The Hamiltonian