Since the pandemic started in March, The Lighthouse’s clinical team has implemented several measures to ensure access to essential palliative care services for children with life-threatening illnesses in a COVID-free environment.
Significant changes were implemented to maintain the tailored approach in providing care to children and compassionate support to isolated families. Partnering with hospitals in order to reduce the demand for hospital beds, The Lighthouse extended its services to include patients aged 18 to 21 from March to June. More services were offered for symptoms management and end-of-life care.
Together despite the distance
To support families remotely, The Lighthouse introduced a telehealth service for healthcare professionals and psychosocial support team. An emergency home-based respite service is provided by workers educated and trained to a high level of infection prevention. Meanwhile, a team of psychosocial specialists is dedicated to supporting families and monitoring emotional distress situations. Virtual visits are now available to families before being transferred to The Lighthouse.
“Our experience also allowed us to support other community organizations to reopen their respite services that had been closed,” says Ariane Parent-Lemay, Clinical Nurse Counsellor, Liaison and Quality Control. “In a spirit of collaboration, we’ve also supported these organizations with prevention and infection control.”
All recommendations from the Public Health Authority were rigorously implemented, including the screening of visitors and body temperature monitoring.
Despite this challenging pandemic circumstances, The Lighthouse’s team has been outstanding in complying with high standards of care and constantly adapting so that the organization may continue to be an essential and trusted partner for families.