Board of Directors

March 8, 2022

1.  The Board is seeking two new Directors with a focus on adding diversity to their numbers – ideally persons skilled in one or both of fundraising and communications.

2.  Dorothy Scorsone, Past President of the May Court Club of Ottawa, spoke about the over 120-year history of the May Court Club, describing their charitable works and the journey they took to become a Sustaining Donor of Hospice Care Ottawa (HCO). Since 1999 the Club has housed May Court Hospice and donated over $1.2 million to HCO.  Their members carry out reception duties during the week and some have taken the course to volunteer with clients. Their continued dedication to HCO, despite 2021 being a very challenging year for them, is greatly appreciated.
 
3.  Lisa Sullivan, Executive Director, provided the following updates:

•  All COVID cases have been resolved, some restrictions for visitors lifted and Day Hospice has been reinstated.
• Staffing challenges in the residences are being overcome, however, some administrative and community staff have tendered their resignations.
• Compassionate Ottawa is planning a city-wide event for late June that will provide opportunities for like-minded organizations to celebrate the end of the stringent COVID restrictions and look to the future together.
• The “Meet the Hospice Team” on social media has been well received
• A compilation of compliments and complaints underscores our anecdotal knowledge that there are considerably more of the former.

4.  Meetings with local Members of Provincial Parliament have provided an opportunity to make the case for 100% funding of clinical care to hospices across Canada. This advocacy work will continue and others are encouraged to support these initiatives through their own letter-writing. Tools to support this are available through https://www.hospicecareottawa.ca/advocacy.html
 
5.  Work continues apace to find funding for the establishment of palliative care beds in the East end of Ottawa. This will be possible only if more government funding is provided. The Board has been very appreciative of the support of many people and organizations, including the Ottawa East OHT, Francophone leaders and decision-makers, doctors, and the Montfort and Bruyère hospitals. A Business Plan for Establishing La Maison de l’Est has been provided to Ontario Health in the hopes that increased funding will be included in the upcoming provincial budget.
 
6.  The Board agreed to the establishment of a Working Group to strengthen work on Equity, Diversity and Inclusion in HCO.
 
7.  Tony Grieg will be HCO’s nominee for the June Callwood Outstanding Volunteer this year at the Hospice Palliative Care (HPCO) Conference.

January 18, 2022

1.  Catherine Lane, Board Chair, expressed thanks to all hardworking staff, with special mention of the fundraisers who brought in over $500,000 in December, 2021, and the management team who have kept volunteers and staff safe through the continuing pandemic. 

2.  Lisa Sullivan, Executive Director, provided the following updates

• We will soon be able to admit new patients to May Court following the end of the suspected COVID outbreak
• Many residence staff positions have now been filled, making it possible to open more resident rooms
• HCO has been working closely with other community agencies to find ways to support clients who are having difficulties accessing services in the community
• Despite the challenges, families continue to praise the support they receive, one favourably comparing the hospice experience over a hospital experience
• We are still awaiting a response to HCO’s request to Heritage Canada for funding our equity, diversity and inclusion project.

3.   Board members from the Communications and Advocacy Committee will be contacting local Members of Provincial Parliament to support requests from Hospice Palliative Care Ontario for more funding in the March budget for hospice.
 
4.   A one-time funding grant from the Ontario government plus the strong December donations means that the 2021/22 fiscal year will end without a deficit. 
 
5.   Currently programs in French are continuing virtually. However since our lease at Bruyère in Orleans will end by July 2022, we are looking for a new site in the east end for community programs. 
 
6.   Sylvie Lalonde delivered a detailed presentation on the Ontario Not-for-profit Corporations Act (ONCA) which was proclaimed in October 2021. The Governance Committee will oversee the transition to new By-laws and practices. They have prepared a plan that will bring HCO into line with ONCA by October 2024.
 
7.   The Quality and Risk Management Committee is overseeing steps to accreditation with HCPCO (Hospice Palliative Care Ontario), anticipated to be fully complete by year’s end.
 
8.   The next meeting of the Board will take place virtually on March 8, 2022.

1.  The meeting was opened with a land acknowledgement that HCO’s sites are situated on Algonquin Anishinaabe Territory. 

2.  The Board received a special guest presentation by Naini Cloutier, Executive Director of the Somerset West Community Health Centre. She presented her organization’s experiences with diversity in the workplace. Naini was thanked for her presentation and insight which will help us on our Diversity journey.

3.  Update:

• COVID –HCO client numbers are down, consistent with our counterparts in other areas due to the COVID restrictions. However, Day Hospice is opening up and we will continue to monitor when visitor restrictions can be lifted. All active volunteers and staff have been immunized for COVID 19 with one medical exemption. Booster shots are now available but will not be mandated at this time. Flu shots are encouraged for all, with two clinics being held on site.
• Funding – One time funding of an additional $35,000 per residential hospice bed has been received for this year. There is no further information on whether this may become ongoing.
• Staffing –As approved at the last meeting, a strategy has been developed with the Resources Committee to address staff shortages, which includes:
  • a wage increase for Residence staff
  • a pension plan being explored
  • social media outreach and promotion
  • an employee referral bonus program.
    
    • In addition, we are requesting proposals for a larger recruitment campaign with several companies in the city. We are also exploring a new grad incentive to offer a paid “internship”. Meetings are set up with 2 university Deans to discuss further.
• Stakeholder relations – We are thrilled to announce that The May Court Club as our sustaining benefactor, has once again provided us with significant operational dollars for the next year.

4.  Committee Highlights:

• Governance Committee – The new ONCA (Ontario Not Profit Corporation Act) has come into effect and there will be a three-year transition period to meet the criteria. An overview of requirements will be presented at our next meeting and a plan for HCO put in place.
• The Quality and Risk Management Committee will be overseeing the HPCO Accreditation process for HCO. Our goal is to submit our accreditation material by June 2022.
• Communications and Advocacy. – Letters have been sent thanking our current government MPPs for supporting hospice with the one-time funding and restating our request for sustained funding. As well, congratulations letters were sent to all newly elected MPs in our area. We will begin working on pre-budget and pre-election advocacy in January with support from the information provided by HPCO.
• Resources Committee – Expenses remain on target. We anticipate increased revenue in  December due to our fundraising events.

5.  New Issues

• The HCO Vaccine Policy was previously approved by the Quality and Risk Management committee and was vetted by an employment law firm. The Board as a whole unanimously approved this policy.
• The HCO MAiD Policy was reviewed in light of recent MAiD legislation changes. It is still relevant and was updated to reflect new information from the legislation.
• A Briefing note on the history and status of the development of Maison de l’Est was prepared and shared. Thanks to the leadership of Benoit Hubert and the Champions committee, our goal continues to be to advocate for funding for Francophone hospice services.  A business plan is being prepared with help from the Champlain Hospice Palliative Care Program (CHPCP) specifically to fund the additional costs required to open hospice residential beds in the East end.

6.  Upcoming Events

• Homes for the Holidays launches this weekend. Giving Tuesday is Nov. 30th.
• Shine A Light event is being held virtually on Dec. 13th for everyone who would like to participate in a memorial services to remember those who have died.
• The virtual all-staff/volunteer holiday party is on December 16th from 4pm to 6pm.

7.  The next Board meeting is January 18, 2022.

1. The meeting was opened with a land acknowledgement that HCO’s sites are situated on Algonquin Anishinaabe Territory. 

2. Kate Cholewa was welcomed as the new Director of Residence Care for Hospice Care Ottawa. 

3. Shirley Chennette, team leader for the Family Support Program at Hospice Care Ottawa presented an overview of this program which serves hospice residents and their families, the care team and the community.  The team, which is supported by trained volunteers, includes psychotherapists and social workers who support people through illness, death and bereavement.  They have adjusted their offerings to accommodate virtual counseling and support groups, as well as re-organizing special events like the Shine a Light celebration held in December to meet evolving public health requirements.  There are personnel in place to support the Ruddy-Shenkman, May Court and Maison de l’Est locations as well as the community at large. 

4. Lisa Sullivan, Executive Director, provided the following updates:

• COVID: The residence visiting rules have been relaxed in accordance with public health guidelines.  Day hospice and limited home support visits will be offered in the fall.
• Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI) project activities have been slow due to COVID. However, we have started collecting more data on staff, volunteers and clients on diversity issues. We have also held discussion groups with staff and volunteers on various topics and have participated in a number of training sessions.
• Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) has been provided in the residences by an outside team since September 2021.  In general, the care team has a good comfort level with the procedure taking place on-site.  In the past four months, 3 of our clients experienced MAiD.  The most recent modifications to the legislation include advance consent by the patient.

5. Quality and Risk Management committee will be recommending the Board approve the new COVID 19 Vaccination policy pending legal input. The new policy requires all staff and volunteers to be vaccinated against COVID 19 in order to work at the Hospice. Those with valid medical or religious exemptions can continue to work as long as they obtain negative COVID tests (PCR) weekly. 

6. Lisa Sullivan reported all statutory payments of the organization have been made. 

7. Employee Referral Bonus program has been approved by the Resources committee. The pilot will run from October 1, 2021 through March 31, 2022. It recognizes employees of HCO who recommend a candidate for employment.  Bonus will be paid out to the referring employee in two installments: $500 at the time of onboarding the new hire; and $500 following six months of successful employment with HCO.  This is one tool of several we are using to increase employee retention and recruitment. 

​8. Next meeting of the Board will be held virtually on November 16, 2021

The Board held it’s second virtual retreat, opening with a Land Acknowledgement and lighting of candles.
 
1. Acceptance of Audited Financial Statements

Stephanie Elyea, Treasurer, spoke to the report and audited statements from KPMG, Auditors for Hospice Care Ottawa (HCO). The Audited Report is in line with financial reports given to the Board throughout the year, showing a healthy surplus, largely because of receipt of the Canada Emergency Wage Supplement (CEWS). The organization is financially stable but will have to carefully plan for the future when CEWS is not available and expenses will rise.
 
2. Annual Executive Director’s Report

Lisa and the other members of the Senior Leadership Team – Jenn Lockyer, Sue McIntosh and Kim Sheldrick – spoke to a slide presentation highlighting the past year. The smaller numbers of clients, services and volunteers can all be explained due to COVID restrictions. Despite all the challenges of the pandemic, HCO was able to

• pivot quickly as needed and communicate regularly to keep everyone informed
• provide well-received virtual Bereavement Support Groups
• support the community clients virtually
• implement the new MAID policy and practices
• support the vast majority of staff in becoming fully vaccinated
• slowly involve more volunteers on-site
• prepare for a return to regular services once it is safe
• modify our admission forms to better acknowledge and support people from different cultures
• advocate for more support to the Francophone population, with an expectation that funding for this may be forthcoming
• temporarily enhance the wages of front-line workers through government supplements
• increase its advocacy work resulting in the likelihood that new sources of Provincial funding may soon be realized
• carry out successful virtual fundraising events

The biggest challenge is that health-care workers are in short supply. Lisa and Kim will continue to work with the Union and the relevant Board Committees to devise ways to attract and keep excellent staff. Much attention has been, and will continue to be, focused on the mental health of staff.
 
The Board expressed their appreciation for the way staff had met the challenges of the past year and support for the 2021/22 priorities which staff will build a work plan around the following priorities:

• address residual COVID fatigue
• reopen community programs
• recruit and retain staff
• implement diversity initiatives
• expand Francophone services
• continue advocacy
• invest in capital improvements

3. Equity, Diversity and Inclusion
 
As part of on-going efforts to increase equity, diversity and inclusion, the Board participated in a session that concluded with a SWOT analysis of what is facing HCO as it moves toward improvements in these areas.