The campaign aims to raise awareness about the importance of pediatric hospice palliative care and improve the quality of living and dying for infants, children and youth with life-threatening conditions and their families. Honouring the children, families, and caregivers who inspire care that counts every dayMany of us associate hospice palliative care with adults and seniors, but children and youth with life-limiting illnesses need that same comfort, compassion, and connection too. Pediatric hospice palliative care is a specialized, holistic approach that supports the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual needs of infants, children, youth, and their families facing life-threatening conditions. It focuses not on length of life, but on quality of living and dying, helping children and families find meaning, relief, and moments of joy no matter how short or long their time may be. |
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| October 8, 2026 Every child with a serious illness and their family deserves high-quality, family-centred hospice palliative care, yet many families across Canada continue to face gaps in accessing care, limited caregiving supports, and inadequate grief and bereavement services. This National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day, CHPCA, in collaboration with Canada’s Pediatric Palliative Care Alliance , is calling on governments, healthcare leaders, organizations, and communities to take action. By raising awareness of, and advocating for, equitable access to care, stronger supports for families, and sustainable investment in children’s hospice palliative care, we can help ensure every child and family receives the compassionate care they need, because short lives can’t wait. |
This National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day, let’s come together to:
Raise awareness of children’s hospice palliative care and its reach across BC and Canada
Advocate for equitable access across provinces and territories so no child or family is left without support
Share stories of hope and strength that honour the courage of children and caregivers
Support hospice societies and specialized programs that make every day count
Together, we can ensure every child and family in BC, no matter where they live, has access to compassionate, community-based hospice palliative care.
Why it matters in British Columbia
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Each year, over 2,000 children in BC live with life-threatening conditions, and about 450 require active pediatric palliative care support at any given time.¹
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Canuck Place Children’s Hospice, a BCHPCA member and Canada’s first pediatric hospice, serves more than 880 children and families each year through two hospice locations (Vancouver and Abbotsford) and province-wide in-home and virtual care.²
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Their interdisciplinary teams provide 24/7 medical and nursing care, counselling, grief and bereavement support, recreation therapy, and respite, completely free of charge.
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Pediatric hospice palliative care helps families avoid unnecessary hospitalizations, reduces emergency visits, and provides continuity of care close to home, allowing children to live fully in comfort and dignity.³
Learn more: bchpca.org
Visit Canuck Place Children’s Hospice: www.canuckplace.org
#MakeEveryDayCount #HPCForChildren #HospicePalliativeCare #PalliativeCare #BCHPCA
¹ Estimate based on BC Children’s Hospital and Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) data on pediatric palliative-eligible conditions.
² Canuck Place Children’s Hospice Annual Report (2024–2025).
³ Pediatric Palliative Care Outcomes Study, BC Children’s Hospital, 2023.
About the Theme
Through Short Lives Can’t Wait, CHPCA and Canada’s Pediatric Palliative Care Alliance calls on policymakers, health systems, workplaces, educators, community organizations, and individuals to close the gap between the care children with serious illnesses and their families receive today and the high-quality care they need. Together, we can create a future where every child with a serious illness and their family can access high-quality, family-centered palliative care in the location of their choice, because short lives can’t wait.
Canadian research shows that only 18% of children who died and could have benefited from specialized pediatric palliative care actually received it. Among those children who did access palliative care, one in four only received care for fewer than eight days before they died.
Equitable Access to CareChildren and families should have access to high-quality hospice palliative care regardless of where they live. We are advocating for:
Despite this need, access to specialized pediatric palliative care remains limited. As of November 2023, only 17 specialized pediatric palliative care (PPC) programs were identified across Canada. These programs are concentrated in urban, population dense areas, leaving families living in rural and remote areas with limited access to specialized care. In addition, no dedicated PPC programs were identified in = the territories, and only one PPC program, located in Halifax, serves all of Atlantic Canada. | Building a Future Where Every Child Receives the Care They DeserveWhile children’s hospice palliative care providers deliver extraordinary care every day, too many families continue to experience a gap between the care they receive and the standard of care every child deserves. We are advocating for:
Research also points to geographic and socioeconomic disparities in access to pediatric palliative care, with children and families who identify within equity-deserving communities and those living in rural and remote areas less likely to receive PPC services. |
Support for Families and CaregiversWhen a child is living with a serious illness, the impact is felt by the entire family. Parents, siblings, and caregivers often face significant emotional, financial, and practical challenges while providing complex care. We are advocating for:
| Grief and Bereavement SupportThe loss of a child has a lasting impact, yet many families struggle to access the grief and bereavement supports they need. We are advocating for:
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How to Get Involved |
Campaign KitWhether you are an individual, workplace, school, healthcare organization, or community group, the Campaign Kit provides ready-to-use resources to help raise awareness and spark conversations about children’s hospice palliative care in Canada. The Kit includes social media graphics, images, posters, virtual meeting backgrounds, email headers, templates and more! | Contact Your MP and MPP65% of caregivers say caregiving issues are important in determining how they vote. Contact your elected officials and encourage them to help close the gap between the care children and families receive today and the care they deserve. Ask your elected officials to support equitable access to care, stronger supports for families and caregivers, and improved grief and bereavement services. |
Core Care Pathway for Pediatric Palliative CareThe Canadian Core Care Pathway for Pediatric Palliative Care provides a roadmap for delivering pediatric palliative care (PPC) from diagnosis through every stage of a family’s journey. Created by Canada’s Pediatric Palliative Care Alliance, and shaped by families, clinicians, and experts across Canada, it sets a clear standard for equitable, consistent, and family-centered care. | Special EventCHPCA will be holding a special event on October 8. Details and registration will be available soon, visit the campaign page for updates. |
About the associationBCHPCA represents its members: individuals and organizations that deliver hospice/palliative care and bereavement services and programs across British Columbia and the Yukon Territory. | Contact usEmail: office@bchpca.org Unit 1100- 1200 West 73rd Ave, | Stay InTouchKeep up to date on upcoming events and recent job postings |
The BC Hospice Palliative Care Association (BCHPCA) recognizes the traditional land of the First Nations, Métis and Inuit peoples who have walked before us and minded the lands we now call home for time immemorial. Hospice Societies have been able to support, aid and care for many people on these same lands. The BCHPCA Offices are located on the ancestral, traditional, and unceded lands of the Coast Salish Peoples, including the territories of the Musqueam, Squamish, and TsleilWaututh Nations.
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