Province supports palliative care with funding

By Sean Feagan, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

New palliative funding could expand end-of-life care in Wheatland County and make dying at home close to family more feasible.

On Sept. 9, the government of Alberta announced $6 million in funding to two palliative care organizations, a commitment to $14 million of additional palliative care funding and the elimination of co-payments for end-of-life drugs.

“When families are faced with a family member who has a serious or life-limiting illness, they should be able to remain as long as possible in their communities,” said Joni McNeely, a physician and president of Wheatland and Area Hospice Society (WAHS). “It’s very encouraging to see the government of Alberta coming on board with that rather than having patients leave their community and go to Calgary to access care.

“In the past, the hospice societies have always advocated for increased government involvement, whether it’s running a hospice or providing programs and services, and thankfully, both the federal and provincial governments are listening,” added McNeely.

The Alberta Hospice Palliative Care Association is receiving $1 million in funding to create in-person and online support groups and develop a grief support telephone line. The funding will also be used to expand the organization’s roadshow workshops that travel each spring to different communities for an educational day to twice a year.

The Covenant Health Palliative Institute, which provides care at institutes across Alberta (though not in Wheatland County) is receiving $5 million to increase its services and promote advance care planning.

Another approximately $14 million will be allocated to palliative care over the next three years.

Dan Williams, MLA for Peace River, is consulting with stakeholders to direct how this funding will be spent.

“Really, $14 million over three years is not a whole lot of money but we’re very gracious for any money that gets distributed to the field of palliative care,” said McNeely, who added WAHS will be applying for operational funding.

“It’s good that the government is involved in providing some funding, but it’s also not just about government funding … it’s more about community and using their resources, and finding out for each community what is the best available practice to improve awareness and to support the patients and their families,” she added. “That way, we get double the bang-for-our-buck because we improve our community as well.”

The elimination of the co-payment will lessen the burden on people who chose to stay at home for palliative care, which could also help reduce health care spending, said McNeely.

Often in palliative care, patients start new drugs, resulting in increased drug costs. While a patient is in hospital, those costs are absorbed by the health care system. But when patients are at home, there is a $25 co-payment per drug with Alberta Blue Cross.

“If you’re on four or five new palliative medications, that’s four or five, times $25 per month, which can be a bit problematic for some people,” noted McNeely. “So, patients would sometimes choose to go into the hospital, when perhaps that wasn’t their wish, just because they didn’t want to be a burden financially on their family.”

Eliminating the co-payment will help fulfill the wishes of families and patients to stay at home for as long as possible, and perhaps choose dying at home, explained McNeely. But the province will benefit as well because it’s more expensive for a patient to be in hospital than it is for them to be in the community.

“Governments across Canada are trying to encourage families and patients to stay at home for as long as possible,” she said. “At some point the government realized yes, even though we’re spending money, it is a cost-saving measure.”