Member of Provincial Parliament Sam Oosterhoff put forward the Compassionate Care Act (Bill 3) in the Ontario legislature last fall. Currently the bill has passed second reading and has been referred to committee.

The Compassionate Care Act is a step to ensure that palliative care is an option for more Ontarians. It requires the Minister of Health and Long-term Care to develop a provincial framework to identify the value of palliative care and what it will take to promote it as an option in Ontario’s health care system through education, training, research and facilitating access.

Palliative care focuses on improving quality of life for patients facing life-threatening illness through pain treatment and addressing physical and psychological issues. The lack of access to palliative care results in a lack of options of how to deal with an illness. No patient should feel their only choices are enduring a long uncomfortable stay in a hospital or prematurely ending their life. Palliative care allows the patient the option of living out their end days in relative comfort with the support of palliative care providers.

Help ensure this bill is passed by completing the one of the following action items:

• Share your story of how hospice palliative care impacts your family.
• Tweet your MPP urging support of the Compassionate Care Act.