‘How will they live until they die?’

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This article was published 27/05/2023 (918 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Jacqueline Bouvier remembers looking after her grandmother during her final years of life and how precious it was for both of them.

It was during this time Bouvier learned about Jocelyn House. After taking some time to grieve her grandmother’s death, she contacted the hospice and began volunteering by cooking every week for the residents, over several years.

“I do really understand the value of our volunteers,” said Bouvier, who has been part of the management team for six years. “I also understand what they receive in their giving. My life has been enhanced by everything I’ve learned through the experiences at Jocelyn House.”

The four-bed residential hospice providing end-of-life care for the terminally ill opened in 1985 and was the first free-standing hospice created in Western Canada. Bill and Miriam Hutton donated their home to the community and founded the hospice in memory of their daughter Jocelyn, who was 17 when she died of cancer in 1980. Jocelyn House is the result of their daughter’s wish to die at home near family, friends and community.

The focus of the home-like setting is on caring, not curing; and on life, not death. Hospice care extends to friends and family, helping them care for their loved one and for themselves during times of grief. There’s a common misconception that the environment must be a sad place to work, but for Bouvier it’s quite the opposite.

“It’s joyful,” she said. “Because of the people I get to meet, and their families, it’s just such an honour to be part of their lives at this difficult time. Death is just one moment. How will they live until they die? We care for them; we care for their families.

“Meals are prepared on site by either staff or volunteers. Maintenance of the house is all done by volunteers. We get people to sit with someone while they die. That is just such a small moment. Volunteers come and contribute to our residents’ lives.”

The hospice does all it can to ensure the comfort and value of each resident, and that can show itself in seemingly little things. Sometimes it can mean baking an apple pie or making a favourite peanut butter cookie recipe. The staff tries to respond to individual requests.

When one of the residents wanted the beef barley soup she was used to, arrangements were made for that to happen. It was important for this resident to be able to have the experience of her own family recipe.

“This morning she was making her soup,” Bouvier said. “To walk into the kitchen and smell that soup — the ability to make your own pot of soup, it’s something so simple,” she said, adding that it’s also meaningful and contributes to the resident’s sense of self-worth and independence.

With a small but mighty management team of three, everyone is thoroughly engaged and committed to creating a comfortable home for residents, their families and visitors alike.

“It represents living, it’s not about dying; it’s about living with dignity, understanding, comfort and peace. Hospice care does not just impact that individual, hospice care profoundly affects their family.”

Amalia Albanito and her three siblings watched first-hand as their mother came to call Jocelyn House home. Maria arrived in October 2022, where she lived surrounded by love until she died in March.

“It was amazing,” Albanito said. “The staff, they are so personable. They care about the patients there. My mother developed a relationship with each and every one. She became so attached to each one of them. She loved them all and would tell them how much she loved them. It was so wonderful for us.

“When we went home, we knew she was well looked after. The volunteers would listen to her, hold her hand. They would read to her. Everybody was so gentle with mom, which really helped us as a family. We had that safety feeling, that someone will be with her if she needs. They were really attentive. It took her about a week and every time we’d go to leave she’d say, ‘You don’t have to worry about me. I have good people here.’

“My friends would come; my mother felt like it was home. At the end it was beautiful: our priest came, my sister and I slept there overnight, it was so lovely, surrounded by love, the women and men, they were so wonderful and compassionate with mom.”

Albanito and her sister are planning to volunteer after they give themselves time to heal. “We saw all of the volunteers; we want to be part of that.”

Jocelyn House residents come through the palliative-care program — when an individual has been given a prognosis of six months or less. The average stay is about three months.

The hospice receives about 55 per cent of its funding from the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority; the amount has not increased since 2013. The remaining 45 per cent is collected through various kinds of fundraising.

“We have existed for 38 years through the generosity of our community. We couldn’t exist without our donors,” said Bouvier.

With very few available hospice beds in Manitoba, Jocelyn House aims to enhance and expand the hospice to meet the increasing needs for end-of-life care. The pandemic took a toll on fundraising efforts but there’s hope that the Hospice Hero campaign running until June 15 will help bring in new monthly donors.

Visit: https://www.jocelynhouse.ca

fpcity@freepress.mb.ca