Latest Hospice News

February 7, 2024

Board of Directors Update Regarding Medical Assistance in Dying

Since opening the doors of Oak Ridges Hospice – Morgan and Sidhu House in 2021, our mission was to bring hope and comfort to the community through compassionate support and end-of -life care.

Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) was legalized in Canada in 2016 and Oak Ridges Hospice worked with a committee, staff, physicians, volunteers, and the broader community to determine our role in MAiD. While we have not historically provided MAiD onsite, we have always respected client’s decision to choose Medical Assistance in Dying and have been supporting clients who have asked with resources and facilitated connections with community and hospital MAiD programs.

Starting in December 2023, the Board of Directors of Oak Ridges Hospice undertook a review process of the MAiD policy at Morgan and Sidhu House. This was a comprehensive review based on a process developed by the Board in November. This included reviewing the current policies of hospices across Ontario, the guidelines of provincial and national associates such as Hospice Palliative Care Ontario and the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, the guidelines of the respective clinical colleges and associations such as the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario, the availability of, and access to, MAiD services in Durham, and all correspondence from staff, volunteers, physicians, healthcare partners, and community members. The Board completed this review at our Board meeting on February 6th and a decision has been made to amend our current policy to allow for the provision of MAiD at the Morgan and Sidhu House.

The website will be updated with the new policy as soon as it is complete.

For further information contact:

Christine Vos, Executive Director

cvos@oakridgeshospice.com

Stephen Gray, Board Chair

sgray@oakridgeshospice.com