Sunday Opening Keynote Panel

Sunday, June 9,  10:00  a.m. 

Palliative Care Everywhere, For Everyone

What does palliative care everywhere mean globally, nationally, and provincially? How can we meet the needs of people who are becoming increasingly diverse, facing structural challenges, and requiring specialized care? Join Helen Simmons, CEO of St. Christopher’s Hospice, UK, Nancy Lefebre, COO of SE Health and the Saint Elizabeth Foundation, Susan Blacker, Provincial Clinical Co-Lead and Deanna Bryant, Group Manager of the Ontario Palliative Care Network for an engaging panel discussion on how to truly make palliative care inclusive and available for all people in need. Drawing on more than 100 years of shared palliative care expertise, this discussion will provide an overview of the challenges in hospice palliative care and then delve into opportunities to improve access for equity deserving communities and better serve our diverse populations in Ontario, Canada, and beyond. 

Sunday Afternoon Keynote: Carmelita Lawlor Lectureship in Palliative Care 

Sunday, June 9,  4:15 p.m.  

Monday Morning Keynote Panel 

Holly Prince
Monday, June 10, 2024 – 9:00 am – 10:15 am

There is Medicine in Diversity: Creating Spaces and Places to Honour Indigenous Knowledges in Palliative Care

Embracing a health equity-oriented approach to palliative care is a crucial step toward improving the health outcomes and end-of-life care of Indigenous Peoples. This approach would challenge the colonial systems that have created disparities for Indigenous Peoples and ensure that care reflects their physical, cultural, and social experiences, values, and beliefs. The care would be grounded in Indigenous ways of knowing, being and doing, recognizing Indigenous Knowledges as a valuable source of wisdom and guidance for the health and wellness, caregiving practices, and dying and death experiences of Indigenous Peoples. The foundation of frameworks and approaches to care would be based on spirituality, kinship, and relational accountability.

It is imperative that we adopt a health equity-oriented approach to provide equitable and culturally safe-r care for Indigenous peoples as they journey back to the spirit world. By integrating Indigenous Knowledges and practices into healthcare and prioritizing diversity, equity, and cultural safety, we can improve outcomes for patients, providers, and the healthcare system as a whole.

Holly Prince is an Anishinaabekwe and a member of Opwaaganisiniing in Northwestern Ontario. She has a Master’s Degree in Social Work and is a Ph.D. Candidate in Educational Studies at Lakehead University. Her research focuses on decolonial and Indigenist education, Indigenous health, and community-based research. Holly 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 at the end of life. She is the Lead for the Indigenous People’s Health and 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 for Indigenous peoples across Canada.

Tuesday HIT Talks

Tuesday, June 11,  9:15 AM 

Tuesday Afternoon Closing Keynote

Tuesday, June 11,  1:00  PM

Relieving Work-Related Stress with Humour