13th Annual Golf Tournament

Since 2013, The Bridge Hospice has provided exceptional care, guidance, and support to people nearing end of life and their families. We have been able to do this thanks to the extraordinary work of our staff and volunteers, as well as strong and ongoing community support.

The past few years of pandemic have required many changes at The Bridge Hospice. We’ve had to adapt and change our services to protect hospice residents, our staff, and the families of both. Following the completion of the five-year partnership with Saint Elizabeth Community Enterprise, we also transitioned to hiring our own local team of nurses and personal support workers. We are extremely grateful to our committed staff and volunteer team as they’ve navigated these changes. Our intention is to continue investing in them and making sure they are supported and engaged in their work.

This strategic planning process has provided us with the opportunity to reflect on what we do and how we do it, to listen to our community, and to consider internal and external influences on our work. As we think about the future, we know the pandemic will continue to have an impact on our sector, including on health human resources and the need to compete with larger centres for staff. In addition, government funding priorities may change, and rising inflation will impact our operational costs. Our community is also changing, which we need to understand and consider so we can best meet the needs of those who rely on us.

We will continue to evaluate our role in the palliative continuum of care and strive to connect the dots between diagnosis, curative care, palliative care, and end of life planning and care. We will push for higher occupancy rates while ensuring timely access to care. We will continue to advocate for increased hospice funding, as well as support for the 3-bed, rural hospice model. We will be a proud and passionate champion of small rural hospices.

Ongoing community support is critical to our work, and we know we need to reinvigorate relationships with our volunteers and community through ongoing outreach and engagement. We are excited for the work of The Bridge Hospice Foundation in supporting fundraising efforts, and look forward to working alongside them on shared communications and activities.

We deeply appreciate the input of the many individuals who took the time to participate in this process and share their knowledge, experience, and ideas. We are energized by our new strategic priorities that will guide our work of offering a tranquil, intimate, home away from home, where people nearing end of life and their families receive exceptional care, guidance, and support from compassionate professional care providers and volunteers.

Sincerely,

Kim Stephens-Woods, RN, MN                Kerri-Anne Kidd, RN, BScN
Board Chair                                                  Executive Director