News

British Columbians and Yukoners are invited to take part in this year’s Hike for Hospice, a national event that supports compassionate end-of-life care in local communities.

Thousands walk each year to honour loved ones, raise vital funds, and ensure hospice palliative care is available close to home.

“It’s a day where families gather to remember, and where we all feel the power of community walking together for a cause that touches every one of us.”
-Northern Region Hospice Society Volunteer

Read the full release and find out how to get involved: www.bchpca.org/hike-for-hospice-palliative-care

To learn more or find a hike near you, visit:
www.bchpca.org/hike-for-hospice-palliative-care
www.chpca.ca/awareness/hike-for-hospice-palliative-care

#HikeForHospice #BCHPCA #HospicePalliativeCare #CommunityCare #EndOfLifeCare #HospiceSupport

Hospice societies across British Columbia and the Yukon provide invaluable support to individuals and families facing end-of-life care, grief, and bereavement. To strengthen recognition and ensure sustainable funding for these essential services, the Information and Technology Task Group has been working since June 2023 to create a standardized framework for data collection and reporting across all hospice societies. A province-wide data initiative.

This initiative aims to develop a will harmonized data reporting practices, empowering hospice societies to present a unified and compelling case for advocacy and funding.By aligning how we gather and share our stories through data, we can build a stronger, collective case for the critical role hospice societies play in caring for our communities.

We're currently in the environmental scan phase, conducting targeted surveys across key service areas: grief and bereavement support, palliative care, community education and outreach, and indirect support. We've already completed surveys for grief and bereavement support, as well as community education and outreach, and are analyzing the data. We will post preliminary snapshots on our Standardizing Hospice Data Practices webpage.

In the coming weeks, we plan to release the indirect support survey, followed by the palliative care survey at the end of May. Throughout the summer, we will analyze the collected data to gain a comprehensive understanding of the invaluable contributions of hospice societies across British Columbia and the Yukon. We are eager to see this data come to life and use it to create a standardized framework for data collection and reporting. This will enable us to effectively advocate for our hospice society members, highlighting the critical role they play in our communities.

We are incredibly grateful for all the support we have received throughout this project from our task group members, pilot group and all those who have completed our surveys. Please watch for more information about our upcoming surveys! Your input is crucial to this important project!

Adam Webber
Membership and Education Coordinator

We would like to inform you of a study investigating how volunteers experience interactions with palliative and grief clients. This study involves answering a brief mobile survey after your next several interactions with your client, intended to help the researchers understand how volunteers listen to and support clients, and how those interactions impact the volunteers themselves. We hope you will consider participating.

The principal investigator of the research study, Tiffany Kriz, Ph.D., an Associate Professor in Management and Organizations at MacEwan University in Edmonton. Dr. Kriz is collaborating with the Palliative Care Society of the Bow Valley (Banff/Canmore) to conduct this study of palliative, hospice, and grief care volunteers in Western Canada, and they have asked us to reach out to our eligible volunteers for inclusion into the study. You are being invited to participate in this study because you are currently deployed as a volunteer to support a client in Western Canada navigating difficult life changes.

If you participate, you will be asked to provide your email address, provide some basic demographic information, and answer some questions about your personality through the link below, then you will be asked complete a short (~3 minutes) survey after at least five client interactions.

If you are interested in participating in the study, please visit this link: https://macewan.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_067Mrvv3ibmoKCW

If you have questions about the study or your participation, contact Dr. Tiffany Kriz at Tiffany.Kriz@macewan.ca.

Participation in the study is voluntary. If you choose not to participate, you can simply disregard this communication, and your volunteer position will not be affected in any way.

Pallium Canada has officially launched the British Columbia Edition of the Canadian Atlas of Palliative Care. This groundbreaking resource provides a comprehensive, data-driven snapshot of the status of palliative care across several domains in the province and its regions.

Learn More

On April 3rd, 2025, BCHPCA proudly participated in the "Dying, Death, Burial & Bereavement Resource Fair", hosted by Jewish Family Services (JFS). This meaningful community event brought together organizations across sectors committed to supporting individuals through life’s most profound transitions. We were honoured to represent the hospice and palliative care community in British Columbia and engage with attendees about the essential work our members do in providing end-of-life care, grief support, and advocacy.

Through our booth, we connected with seniors, caregivers, and service providers, highlighting the vital role hospices play not only in providing comfort and dignity at the end of life but also in supporting families and communities before, during, and after a loss. One of our core priorities at BCHPCA is promoting grief and bereavement as a public health issue – one that deserves sustained investment and recognition within the broader healthcare system.

We were pleased to be joined at the event by our member, the Vancouver Hospice Society, who showcased their innovative bereavement programs, such as the Bereavement Walking Program and the Parent’s Grief Support Group. Their approach exemplifies how accessible, community-based grief support can create healing spaces and support those with their grief journey.

At BCHPCA, we are working on multiple strategies to strengthen grief and bereavement care across the province. This includes building awareness through events like the past Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health Summit 2024, engaging health and community leaders, and advocating for policy changes that recognize bereavement as a critical component of health and wellness.

Thank you to JFS for hosting such a thoughtful and welcoming event, and to everyone who stopped by our booth to learn more about hospice and palliative care in BC. Together, we continue to advocate for a future where grief and loss are met with understanding, resources, and community.

Daniel Ordonez Mantilla 
Data and Research Coordinator

We’re honoured to share that the BC Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) and Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society were recently featured in a global piece published by the International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC).

The article, Culturally Safer Care: Pause, reflect, share... then move forward, highlights a growing focus on culturally safer palliative and grief care across Canada, particularly for Indigenous communities. It also recognizes BCHPCA’s leadership in working across systems, alongside the First Nations Health Authority, and our commitment to ensuring hospice palliative care in B.C. is both community-driven and culturally responsive.

“Having Indigenous communities lead the conversation, with us as supporters, is where I’ve seen huge strides.”
— Pablita Thomas, Executive Director, BCHPCA

A Story of Hospice, Healing, and Honour

The feature also includes a deeply moving story from Cheyanne Toninato, who shared her experience of accompanying her great-grandmother Mary an Elder from Skwah First Nation through her final days at Rotary Hospice House in Prince George.

With the support of hospice staff, Cheyanne and her family held a wedding ceremony inside the hospice so Mary could attend. Mary passed peacefully two weeks later, surrounded by music, her favourite cocktail, and her dog, Elvis.

Since Mary’s passing, Cheyanne has raised $10,000 in her honour and become a passionate hospice advocate.

“They just treated my grandma with such respect and kept her pride and dignity. I’ll be forever grateful.”
— Cheyanne Toninato

A National and Provincial Shift

This article comes as the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) prepares to launch a new stream at its upcoming national conference:
"Indigenous Communities & Culturally Safer Care" designed to amplify Indigenous-led practices, traditional knowledge, and land-based healing models.

As BCHPCA continues to support hospice societies across B.C., we remain committed to walking alongside Indigenous communities and advocates to ensure care is not only accessible, but truly culturally safe.

“To care for someone, you need to know the uniqueness of that person. There is no ‘one size fits all.’”
— Donna Flood, Executive Director, Prince George Hospice Palliative Care Society

Read the full article:

IAHPC: Culturally Safer Care – April 2025 Edition

The BC Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA), representing 72 hospice societies across BC and the Yukon, applauds the Office of the Seniors Advocate’s reportReframing Ageing: British Columbians' Thoughts on Ageism. The letter emphasizes the impact of ageism on older adults and highlights how hospice societies are already addressing these challenges through inclusive, relationship-based care. It underscores the vital role seniors play as hospice volunteers—over 68% of the hospice volunteer base—and how their work challenges ageist narratives and builds community resilience. The response also draws attention to the urgent needs of rural and remote seniors and calls for greater collaboration to advance age-positive solutions across the province.

Read the Full BCHPCA Response Letter

The BC Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) is hosting its 2025 Lunch & Learn Series from April 28 to May 2, focusing on breaking barriers to hospice palliative care for underserved communities.

Titled “Breaking Barriers in Hospice Palliative Care”, this virtual series will address critical issues such as Indigenous cultural safety, stigmatizing language, systemic bias, and inclusive care for 2SLGBTQIA+ individuals.

With only 16–30% of Canadians accessing palliative care, marginalized groups often face additional barriers that limit their ability to receive compassionate, person-centered support. This series offers practical strategies, expert insights, and tools to foster greater equity in care.

Register today to be part of these essential discussions.

Session Highlights:

• Day 1 (April 28): Indigenous Cultural Safety & Humility for Volunteers & Staff Within The Hospice Palliative Care Space
• Day 2 (April 29): The Influence of Words: Approaches for Mitigating Stigmatizing Language in Hospice and Palliative Care
• Day 3 (April 30): Exploring Grief Migration Through Social and Cultural Perspectives
• Day 4 (May 1): Beyond the Binary: Creating Safe(r) and Affirming Spaces for 2SLGBTQIA+ People Accessing Hospice Palliative Care
• Day 5 (May 2): Equity at the Heart of Care (Pre-recorded + Live Workshop)

Let’s work together to foster inclusive, person-centered, and accessible care for all.

Learn More & Register

Read The Full Press Release

The Memorial Society of BC is calling on its members and the general public to urge the BC Government to legalize greener options for the disposition of human remains in British Columbia.

At this time, British Columbians only have the options of cremation and burial for the disposition of their bodies. Both forms have harmful impacts on our environment. Fortunately, greener technologies have emerged, but they are not yet available in British Columbia. These include Alkaline Hydrolysis and Natural Organic Reduction – see below.

The Memorial Society strongly supports that residents of BC should have choice when it comes to disposition and access to eco-friendly technologies. As these technologies are already established in jurisdictions in Canada and the United States, there is little reason why they should not be available to British Columbians.

We are calling on the BC Government to amend the Cremation, Interment and Funeral Services Act to legalize Alkaline Hydrolysis and Natural Organic Reduction. This Act falls under the responsibility of the Attorney General, the Honourable Niki Sharma.

Learn More

For over 40 years, hospice societies have provided essential end-of-life care, grief support, and bereavement services to individuals and families. With the help of over 3,600 trained volunteers, these services reach more than 10,000 people each month. However, many individuals remain unaware of the full range of hospice services available to them. The BC Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) is committed to increasing awareness and ensuring that those in need receive the care and support they deserve.

Read the Full Media Release