New policy for when residents die met with praise from residents, families
Home giving residents opportunity to say last goodbyes
Monday April 20, 2009 -- Deron Hamel
Revera Inc.-owned Fenelon Court has recently adopted an open policy when residents at the home die, which sees individuals taken from the home through the front door covered with an ornate quilt, and fellow residents are given the opportunity to say their last goodbyes.

The decision was met with support from the Fenelon Falls long-term care home’s residents’ council and family members, says Christine Keenan, the home’s program manager and staff educator.

Two of the home’s staff members brought the idea to Fenelon Court after attending a Four Counties Long-Term Care Palliative Network meeting in September that highlighted the importance of seeing residents who have died leave long-term care homes through front entrances, rather than through back doors.

In the past, residents were taken from the home through the back door, and residents were shielded from the procedure.

Keenan adds this underscores the importance of engaging with other long-term care homes to discover best practices.

With the home’s new policy, residents who have died are now leaving with a specially designed quilt draped over them as they are taken from the home. The quilt was created by the home’s volunteer co-ordinator and palliative-care team lead.

“We welcome these residents through the front door and we become friends with them and residents become friends, so we shouldn’t have to hide the fact that they have passed away,” says Keenan.

“Our thinking is that if people come in through the front door, then they should go out through the front door with dignity, as well.”

Additionally, the home has residents who served in the Armed Forces. When residents who are veterans die, the home has a Canadian flag that’s placed over the resident as they leave the home.

“The response has been really great,” says Keenan. “As soon as (residents) see the flag they know that it’s a veteran who is going out, and families are really pleased that we honour them in that way, as well.”

The Four Counties Long-Term Care Palliative Care Network holds five workshops annually to discuss best practices in palliative care in long-term care homes. The network consists of representatives from long-term care homes in Peterborough, Haliburton and Northumberland counties and the City of Kawartha Lakes.

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