Hi all - well a month after our launch by the Tasmanian Health Minister Hon Michael Ferguson I am pleased to let you know that over 2000 people have viewed the blog and we have had an incredibly positive response to the program.
Personally I want to thank everyone who has been involved in bringing this community engagement project to life. It has and continues to make a difference. The survey results for the program were incredibly positive and affirming. Programs such as this make a difference. Calvary hope to run a similar program in 2017 with new people and leaders. For information about this please contact Calvary Hobart Executive Office.
On a personal note, on the day I first viewed our DVD I found out that my Mum was diagnosed with a terminal cancer. It has been an incredibly difficult journey for our family. However, because of my involvement in this project and the fact that Mum and other family members had been engaged in what was happening with our program I have found dealing with some of what we have had to deal with less confronting. Mum had been watching the progress of our project from the blog and we had been talking about many of the topics we looked as during the course of the program, all before her diagnosis. It is as though we as a family were being prepared for the journey that we are now on.
At the heart of this project is the aim for people to have less fear around death and talking about death and dying so that they can embrace a more fully human and positive attitude to living. I know this aim has been fulfilled with me. Thank you everyone and may your quest in this space continue to be challenging and life affirming.
Over and out for Calvary Hobart Exploring Death, Dying and Palliative Care 2016
COME AND SIT WITH US AS WE EXPLORE ISSUES AROUND DEATH, DYING AND PALLIATIVE CARE. GET COMFY, EXPLORE, JOURNEY, CREATE!
About
Our project has 2 parts:
Part I - Education and Immersion.
6 x weekly x 90 minute sessions at Gibson Unit, Calvary St John's Palliative Care and Oncology Unit.
Each session has an education component, activity with Calvary staff and/or patients and a reflective de-brief. Starts February 18th.
Part II - Creative Response.
All participants, including adults will be asked to create a personal response to their experiences in Part I. It could be a piece of visual art, music, poem. Whatever takes their fancy!
The short term aim of this exciting pilot project is to educate and journey with Senior students from a class at St Mary’s College and Guilford Young College about Palliative and End of Life Care in the hospital setting.
The long term aim is to enhance our communites capacity to deal with death and dying in a more positive way and in so doing be able to support others who approaching and reaching the end of life. We also hope that the program will enhance the participants capacicity to personally live more "fully human, fully alive" lives.
Calvary staff, doctors, community members and organisations will be sharing their expertise about end of life care issues as well as their own stories and experiences with the participants.
At the conclusion of the 6 weeks, students and staff will respond by creating a personal response to their experiences. These responses will be shared with both the community of St Mary’s and Guildford Young College, the community of Calvary and the wider community. Response(s) could take the form of music, poetry, presentation, film, visual art.
Calvary plans to document and research the program. We also want to create our own response in the form of a short film (7-10 minutes) which will be shared at the conclusion of the course and be used as an education tool about Calvary and how we provide dignified pallitiave and end of life care for people as they are approaching and reaching the end of their life. Our vision is holistice health care which places people and their goals of care at the centre of their web of care.
The project is being funded by Calvary Hobart and Palliative Care Tasmania. The effectivenesss of the program will be evaluated as part of an approved Calvary Hobart research project.
At Calvary Hobart our vision as a Catholic not-for-profit hospital is to excel and be recognised as a continuing source of healing, hope and nurturing to the people and communities we serve. We believe that this project will help us live this vision in a creative and new way. Our values of hospitality, healing, stewardship and respect are the inspiration and foundation of this project.
