August’s 10th Anniversary Highlight is a look back to 2020 and the creation of our Compassionate City Crew volunteer program!
A palliative care doctor, a gerontologist/volunteer coordinator and a retired nurse/Hospice executive director walked into the NWHS board room with the aim of making New West a Compassionate City.
That was the birth of our volunteer training program and our Compassionate City Crew. The New West Hospice Society was only four years old and dedicated to using a community engagement model in our quest to develop a Compassionate City that normalizes end of life.
Creating the Program
With three lifetime careers in healthcare behind them, our team knew this was an opportunity to remember all the times they wished they could include different perspectives and improvements in how to provide stellar practical and emotional support to people at end-of-life.
They discussed assumptions that needed examination and the ‘well we’ve always done it that way’ myths that needed debunking. The outcome was two guiding principles: question how we do everything we do, and develop partnerships with other organizations to elevate the work we do.
Then, they came across Bill’s Story. This short video from Ireland about neighbours helping neighbours, a community support network that went beyond a cup of sugar or a flat tire bur expended into care at end of life.
Our Compassionate City Crew
This example of community care embodied everything Dr Charlie Chen, Brock Nicholson, and Kay Johnson were trying to accomplish. As they sat together in that meeting room, working to figure out how to create the curriculum that trained their Compassionate City Crew, they held onto these guiding principles.
Working through the pandemic Charlie, Brock, and Kay dedicated many months to creating the framework for our Compassionate City Crew.
Our training module has come a long way since 2020, which was already on it’s fourth revision of the earliest ideas. With every update we bring insight learned from the last group of students and follow the observations of the facilitators. By listening, learning, and adapting, we are creating a true team-based approach to compassionate care.
