About Us
Who We Are
Hospice Halifax is a compassionate and supportive community of staff members, volunteers, and donors dedicated to making dying and living as comfortable and as meaningful as possible at the end of life.
Welcome to Hospice Halifax Video
Learn more about us by watching this 2 min video…
Our History
Hospice Halifax (formerly called the Hospice Society of Greater Halifax) started in 2001. In 2002, we established our first working and administrative board of directors. We received our charitable registration status on January 17, 2003. In 2010, we acquired Pryor House from Halifax Regional Municipality. This heritage property at 9 Spring Street in Bedford served as the operational base for our administration activities, community programs, and member and volunteer events until December 2015. We updated our mission, vision, purpose, and guiding principles in 2011 (and later in 2018). We hired our first office manager in 2012 and, in 2014, we welcomed our first CEO.
In the past, we’ve offered programs like The Living Room, The Bedford Sunshine Room, and Caregiver Support. Today, we offer community support through our bereavement programs and community events.
Our membership includes community members, advocates, health care professionals, and families touched by hospice care. Our 180 volunteers help create awareness about hospice care, organize events, and offer support programs. Each year, we host major annual fundraising initiatives like Feeling the Love Dinner and Dance Party, Hike for Hospice, Kate’s Ride, and Light Up A Life.
Our Vision
Offering the best end of life possible.
Our Mission
A community of compassion and care dedicated to providing the best end of life possible for patients and their families.
Our Values
Community is the cornerstone of our success. We constantly strive to build a sense of community underpinned by trust, collaboration and mutual respect for our patients, their families, volunteers, donors, and each other.
We welcome patients’, families’, and community members’ diverse identities.
We believe knowledge strengthens our community. Education and awareness about end of life care options give patients, families, volunteers, community members, and donors peace of mind surrounding death.
We continue to always question the way things are done and how we can improve the experience that patients, their families and our community of supporters have with Hospice Halifax.
Hospice Palliative Care: A Definition
Hospice palliative care means providing opportunities for patients and families to uniquely address practical, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs while preparing for the patient’s death.
Hospice residences provide a home-like setting for people who are living with and dying from end-stage illnesses who require holistic care and regular symptom assessment. Hospices also help patients and families cope with grief and loss during the illness and after the patient’s death. Hospice care is safe, high quality, patient-centered, and cost effective.
Palliative care, aimed at relieving physical suffering and providing comfort and quality of life, can be delivered in a dedicated section of a health care facility, in a person’s home, or at a hospice.
To learn more about the history of hospice palliative care in Canada, visit the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association.
