The Changing Face of Palliative Care in the Pandemic Era

RICHMOND COUNTY - End-of-life care and long-term illness management have taken on a new look in the Strait area during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

The point was repeatedly driven home during the latest edition of Telile Community Television's series Roundtable, which invited four members of the Strait-Richmond Palliative Care Society (SRPCS) to share their thoughts on the importance of palliative care and the challenges in delivering the service - both at the Strait-Richmond Hospital in Evanston and in individual homes - during the time of COVID-19. 

While she noted that medical professionals involved in palliative care over the past two years wore full personal protective equipment (PPE) and proper medical masks, SRPCS representative Sandra Davis of Arichat declared that the quality of care "has not been compromised" during this time. 

"Our palliative care team's [home] visits went down from once a week to once every two weeks, but from that perspective, it was great - although it could be a blessing and a curse," Davis noted. 

"If immediate family wanted to come visit from 'away,' they needed to quarantine, but we were able to manage that. And the people did come to visit were able to bring their devices here and keep working, so they didn't have to worry about taking time off work while they were [attending to patients]...The health care just kept going."

Fellow Arichat-based SRPCS member Odilon Boudreau stressed the importance of the general public's uptake on COVID-19 vaccines to allow them to visit their loved ones in the Strait-Richmond Hospital's palliative care unit. He also spoke of how his years of working directly with terminally ill Richmond County residents has changed his outlook on life. 

"Personally, I talk too much," Boudreau remarked. "But dying people have taught me to be a better listener - and that was a hard thing to do."

While the SRPCS is recognized as a wing of Nova Scotia Health, it does not receive any provincial funding. However, committee spokesperson Elaine Noseworthy praised Richmond Municipal Council and the general public for their "generous" donations during the society's 28-year history.

As part of its strategic planning exercise, the society is revamping its Web site - www.srpalliativecaresociety.com - and is also expanding its presence on social media, establishing the Facebook group "Strait Richmond Palliative Care Society."