2024 Northwestern Ontario Palliative Care Conference Booster
Did you know that Canadian physicians express lower confidence in managing palliative care compared to their international counterparts? According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, only 40% of primary care physicians reported feeling prepared to care for patients with palliative care needs (CIHI, 2023).
Palliative care is often misunderstood as treatment solely for people in their last days and weeks of life. Recognizing that the healthcare system is only part of the equation, our conference digs into the multidimensional aspects of palliative care provision.
Through an immersive case study and interactive sessions, Beyond Diagnosis: A Journey Through the Palliative Care Continuum offers a unique opportunity to follow a patient’s journey from diagnosis to end-of-life care. Gain valuable insights and practical strategies to navigate the holistic nature of palliative care effectively.
WHO IS THIS CONFERENCE FOR?
Beyond Diagnosis: A Journey Through the Palliative Care Continuum is a one-day conference tailored for all health and social care providers seeking to redefine excellence in palliative care.
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Personal Support Workers
- Social Workers
- Physiotherapists
- Occupational Therapists
- Pharmacists
- Administrators/Managers
YOUR FEEDBACK – OUR FOCUS
Your input from last year’s conference poll has guided our planning process. This year, we are bringing your most requested topics to the booster.
- Culturally safer, trauma-informed and equity-informed palliative care
- Empowering your patients who face a life-changing diagnosis
- Practical solutions & tips for family caregivers
- How to handle requests for a hastened death or MAiD
CONFERENCE AVAILABLE IN-PERSON AND VIRTUALLY!
We, at CERAH, recognize that Northwestern Ontario is a very large geographical area – one that, for many, includes remote and rural agencies and organizations. Because of this, for the first time, we are offering a hybrid conference; in-person for those who can join us, and online for those who may not be able to make the journey to Thunder Bay!
Online
$165 (HST included)
Per Person
Virtual Group Rates Available – Please Contact Us for More Information!
Registration Includes
Livestream of keynote sessions (4)
Online networking opportunities
Access to speaker presentations and recordings after the event
Certificate of completion
MOST POPULAR
In Person
$200 (HST included)
Per Person
Registration Includes
All keynote presentations
Nutrition breaks (2)
Breakfast
Lunch
Face to face networking opportunities
Conference bag & swag
Access to speaker presentations and recordings after the event
Certificate of Completion
Students* & Hospice Volunteers**
$100 (Online or In Person)
Per Person
Registration Includes
Same inclusions as online or in-person delegates
*Full-time Students must provide proof of full-time enrolment to receive the student rate.
** Hospice volunteers must register through their volunteer organization to receive the volunteer rate.
Dr. Sammy Winemaker, MD
Dr. Samantha Winemaker is an Associate Clinical Professor, Department of Family Medicine, in the Division of Palliative Care at McMaster University. She teaches palliative care to healthcare professionals. She won the Ontario College of Family Physicians Award of Excellence in 2010, the Elizabeth J. Latimer Prize in Palliative Care in 2018, and the Dr. S. Lawrence Librach Award for Palliative Medicine in the Community in 2019. She is also co-author of the best-selling book, “Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest: 7 Keys to Navigating a Life-Changing Diagnosis” and co-host of the popular podcast, “The Waiting Room Revolution.”
Dr. Hsien Seow, Ph.D.
Dr. Hsien Seow is the Canada Research Chair in Palliative Care and Health System Innovation and an Associate Professor in the Department of Oncology, McMaster University. He publishes health care and policy research focused on improving care for patients with serious illness. He won the Canadian Institutes of Health Research’s New Investigator award in 2015 and held the Cancer Care Ontario Chair in Health Services Research in 2009-2014. Hsien is also co-author of the best-selling book, “Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest: 7 Keys to Navigating a Life-Changing Diagnosis” and co-host of the popular podcast, “The Waiting Room Revolution.”
Holly Prince, MSW, Ph.D. Candidate
Holly Prince is an Anishinaabekwe and a member of Opwaaganisiniing in Northwestern Ontario, Canada. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is a Ph.D. Candidate in Educational Studies at Lakehead University. Holly’s research focus is on decolonial and Indigenist education and Indigenous health and community-based research. She is the lead for the Indigenous Peoples’ Health & Aging Division at the Centre for Education and Research on Aging and Health, Lakehead University, where she works as a Project Manager. A part of her role involves planning, implementing, and evaluating palliative care education and health equity initiatives for Indigenous peoples across Canada. She has devoted the last 20 years to advancing the right of Indigenous peoples’ access to culturally appropriate and equitable palliative care and has mobilized her efforts as a national champion of human rights and dignity for people preparing to journey back to the spirit world.
Dr. Kevin Bezanson, MD
Kevin Bezanson MD, CCFP(PC), DTMH, MPH is a husband, father of two children, son to an elder mother, brother of three siblings, and friend. He is also a palliative care physician based at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences and Cancer Centre and the Ontario Health Clinical Co-Lead for Palliative Care Northwest Region. He has clinical, educational, and research interests in Equity Based Palliative Care, particularly in improving access for underserved populations especially Indigenous communities, homeless and vulnerably housed persons, and those facing humanitarian crises. He is an Assistant Professor at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine, and previously worked in Toronto, Malawi, and Kitchener-Waterloo before coming to Thunder Bay in 2016. He loves canoeing, running, and still learning to skate ski and kayak.
Kimberly Ramsbottom, MSW
Kimberley Ramsbottom lives and works in the Thunder Bay Region. Her love of this area stems from her family ties to the great waters of Lake Nipigon and Lake Superior. Her background is in child/youth work and social work. Kimberly has worked with Lakehead University and the Quality Palliative Care in Long Term Care and Improving End-of-Life Care in First Nation Communities projects, and continues to work with the Palliative Care for Frontline Workers in Indigenous Communities. Presently she is working at Hospice Northwest as the Outreach Program Coordinator where she helps coordinate the Gashkendamide’e (Be Grieved from the Heart) Loss and Grief Support Group and supports vulnerable community members at end-of-life and in their grief journeys.
Piotr Burek
Piotr Burek (he/him) is a Master of Arts student in the Social Dimensions of Health program at the University of Victoria, Canada. As a long-time harm reductionist, he has worked with and organized alongside people who use drugs in supported housing, supervised consumption programs, and palliative approaches to care. He currently sits as the co-chair of a national steering committee with Healthcare Excellence Canada supporting the development of innovative strategies to improve equity in palliative approaches to care for people made structurally vulnerable.
Dr. Megan Sellick, MD
Megan Sellick is a palliative medicine physician currently working with the Thunder Bay Palliative Care Associates. She completed her year of added training in palliative medicine in 2015 at the University of Alberta and practiced in Edmonton until 2022. In Spring of 2022 she then returned home to Thunder Bay to join the palliative care team here. She is passionate about palliative care education for learners of all levels and areas of health care. She is a Pallium LEAP facilitator, educator at NOSM University and the University of Alberta and member of the Board of Directors of the Canadian Society of Palliative Medicine.
Elder Beatrice Twance-Hynes
Elder Beatrice Twance-Hynes, is a member of Biigtigong Nishnaabeg First Nation. Beatrice is a traditional women’s dancer who makes her own regalia. She is a grandmother pipe carrier, a sacred circle facilitator, songwriter, singer and drummer. She does teachings on the Medicine Wheel, the Sacred Medicines, the Seven Sacred Grandfathers, water ceremony, blanket ceremony, feasting, fasting, spirit names, women’s roles & rites of passage, traditional parenting, grief and loss, and the hand drum.
Dr. Katrina Ward, MD
Dr. Kat Ward is a graduate of the University of British Columbia medical school and completed her residency at the Northern Ontario School of Medicine in 2021. She has been a member of the Northwestern Ontario Palliative Care team since then.
Alia Wurdemann-Stam, MA
Alia is a registered psychotherapist with a Master’s degree in Counselling and Spirituality. She specializes in individual therapeutic work with clients who struggle with traumatic experience; acute, intergenerational and complex. She also works with a wide range of clinical issues including anxiety and depression, as well as relational difficulties, spiritual and faith crises, and grief. Her therapeutic work is rooted in compassion and centred on the relationship between herself and the client. Alia’s therapeutic approach draws largely upon experiential based therapeutic modalities including Internal Family Systems, EMDR, and the weaving in of various mindfulness, somatic and embodiment interventions.
Robert Essex, RN
Bio Coming Soon
