In honour of International Women’s Day — a global holiday celebrating the achievements of women — we at Hospice Waterloo Region want to celebrate and higlight a few of the champions and heroes of hospice palliative care, including:

• Dame Cicely Saunders, Founder of the Modern Hospice Movement
• The Honourable Sharon Carstairs, Champion & Trailblazer for Palliative Care in Canada
• Dr. Dorothy Ley, Pioneer of the Hospice Care Movement in Ontario
• Dr. Samantha Winemaker, Palliative Physician, Author and Patient Advocate
• Dr. Donna Ward, Leader in Palliative Care in Waterloo Region

In 1967, Saunders founded the opening of St. Christopher’s Hospice in south west London, the world’s first purpose-built hospice. She introduced effective pain management and insisted that dying people needed dignity, compassion, and respect, as well as rigorous scientific methodology in the testing of treatments. She abolished the prevailing ethic that patients should be cured, that those who could not be cured were a sign of failure, and that it was acceptable and even desirable to lie to them about their prognosis.

Saunders introduced the idea of “total pain,” which included the physical, emotional, social, and spiritual dimensions of distress. She regarded each person, whether patient or staff, as an individual to the end.

She introduced the system of pain control she had developed at St Luke’s Hospital. It was a firm approach (“constant pain needs constant control”), whereby patients were given regular relief and not forced to wait until their pain returned and they cried out. This greatly reduced their fear and anxiety and this, in turn, reduced pain and their need for pain relief. She argued that if physical pain was alleviated, then mental pain was also relieved. She also used medicines to relieve other problems of the dying, including bedsores, nausea, depression, constipation, and breathlessness.

In 2005, Saunders died at St. Christopher’s Hospice. Her legacy and work will live on in over 240 hospices in Britain alone.

The Honourable Sharon Carstairs

Champion & Trailblazer for Palliative Care in Canada

Born in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1942, Carstairs became leader of the Manitoba Liberal Party in 1984. Carstairs became leader of the opposition, the first woman to hold such a position in any Canadian legislature. Carstairs resigned as party leader in 1993.

On September 15, 1994, Carstairs was appointed to the Senate of Canada. She held the position of Leader of the Government in the Senate from January 2001 to December 2003.

From 2001 to 2003, Carstairs served as Minister with Special Responsibility for Palliative Care. This was her passion, and it gave her the opportunity to direct more federal money into palliative care for both programming and research. One of the most important initiatives was the original funding to establish the Canadian Virtual Hospice. This interactive website which reaches millions of Canadians and others throughout the world has been described by the American Palliative Care Association as Canada’s gift to the world in Palliative Care.

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association awarded her their Leadership Award in 2003, for being a true leader and champion for hospice palliative care in Canada.

Sharon Carstairs has served as a member and as Chair of various Senate Committees, including the Special Senate Committee on Aging. She released two special reports on palliative in Canada, in 2005

“Still Not There. Quality End-of-life Care: A Progress Report” and in 2010 “Raising the Bar.” Her advocacy of this issue led to the first national strategy on end-of-life care and a compassionate care benefit program.

In 2011, Carstairs announced her resignation from the Senate to return to private life, at the age of 69. In 2016, Carstairs was made a Member of the Order of Canada for her public service and her work as a champion of palliative care.

Her advocacy work continues today, as she is currently the chair of the International Centre for Dignity and Palliative Care.

Dr. Dorothy Ley

Pioneer of the Hospice care movement in Ontario

Dr. Ley was a woman with a driving spirit, a woman with a vision to help and heal others at a time when the medical profession was dominated predominantly by men. Through her tenacity and dedication, she went on to become an internationally respected oncologist, treating terminally ill cancer patients with compassion and care.

Dr. Ley’s concern for her patients led her on a mission to develop a patient-centred end-of-life model of care that was more personal and loving. One that enabled people to live with dignity and meaning, while surrounded by the people close to them.

Through her spirit and commitment, Dr. Dorothy Ley pioneered the field of hospice care in Ontario. Her vision and dedication continue to inspire others in medicine and healthcare delivery. In 1991, she helped to establish the Canadian Palliative Care Foundation, to provide a benchmark for others and to give the field the acknowledgement and credibility it deserved.

Founded in 1990, The Dorothy Ley Hospice is a volunteer-based community service organization offering compassionate care to people living with the challenges of a life-limiting illness or loss. Dr. Ley believed spiritual care to be a critical component of hospice care and that comfort does not come from medicine alone, but from a touch, a glance, a smile, a goal accomplished.

Dr. Winemaker works closely with her colleague Dr. Hsien Seow. Together, they have created a internationally acclaimed podcast called “The Waiting Room Revolution.” For years, they often heard patients and families say they felt unprepared and overwhelmed. Despite years of education, research, and advocacy, they continued to hear patients and families say “Why didn’t anyone tell me that sooner…”

They started the Waiting Room Revolution movement because they wanted to improve the patient and family illness experience. They want to build a community to share deeply human stories about caring for others. Through interviews with experts, clinicians, patients and caregivers, they are harnessing the advice of those with lived experience to better prepare those who are just starting their caring journey.

Based on the essential themes raised by their podcast, the pair co-wrote “Hope for the Best, Plan for the Rest,” where they draw on decades spent researching and caring for thousands of seriously ill patients to reveal the seven keys for a better illness experience.

Dr. Donna Ward

Leader in Palliative Care in Waterloo Region

Dr. Donna Ward began exploring the area of palliative care in the early 1980s. She quickly became a leader in palliative care, initiating the first palliative care program in Kitchener-Waterloo. Dr. Ward takes a holistic approach with her patients. She believes in the essential values of pain and symptom management. She is quick to highlight the supportive environment of colleagues, chaplains, social workers, nurses, volunteers and many others who are committed to walking with a patient and their family during an illness journey.

Dr. Ward was a founding member of KW Palliative Associates community physician group. In her practice as a family physician, she had realized that her training and practice were not adequate to provide good palliative care. She began working with medical school curriculums to include more palliative content, and is still listed as an Associate Professor at McMaster University.

Dr. Ward is the retired Medical Director of Palliative Care at the Grand River Regional Cancer Centre. She served in this role for many years.

Dr. Ward has received many awards. To name a few:

• Award winner – College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario for patient dedication and clinical excellence
• Award winner – John R. and Kay Sweeney Award for Catholic Leadership from St. Jerome’s University
• Recipient of Bene Merenti Medal for her work with dying patients
• Recipient of Mayor’s Dinner recognition as a community leader

We appreciate the incredible empathy and hard work that Dr. Donna Ward has brought to palliative care in Waterloo Region!