Fellowship First of its Kind in Ontario

New Education Opportunity for Nurses in Palliative Care

TORONTO, Feb. 7, 2013 /CNW/ - North York General Hospital (NYGH) has launched a new fellowship for nurses interested in learning about the practice of palliative care in home and hospital settings.

The Advanced Practice Nursing (APN) Fellowship is the first of its kind in Ontario. Fellows will spend six months, beginning in July 2013, gaining hands-on experience in the delivery of comprehensive palliative care tailored to the unique needs of every patient and their family.  Nurses who have completed the fellowship will have acquired the expertise to provide palliative care to patients, whether it is in hospital or at home.

"Ninety per cent of Canadians facing the end of their lives can benefit from the type of care North York General's palliative care program provides, but only one in four have access," says Dr. Nina Horvath, Medical Director, Freeman Centre for the Advancement of Palliative Care, North York General Hospital. "As our community grows and ages, the need for comprehensive integrated palliative care will become even more apparent."

"The APN Fellowship in Palliative Care is an excellent example of how we will improve the quality of care we provide patients by giving clinical staff, in this case, advanced practice nurses, opportunities to develop specialized skills, and to participate in scholarly work that will drive innovations in care into the future," says Dr. Tim Rutledge, President and CEO, North York General Hospital.

The national strategy on end-of-life care outlines the importance of education and sharing best practices to ensure health care professionals are prepared to care for dying patients. The APN Fellowship in Palliative Care will help increase capacity, provide opportunities for research, and ensure patients are being treated following best practices in care.

A generous gift of $1 million from Zoltan and Yetta Freeman, combined with an additional $1 million from the NYGH Foundation provided funding to educate the next generation of palliative care physicians, nurses and care providers and will advance research in palliative care.  The APN Fellowship is a critical component and is a reflection of the resources now dedicated to the Freeman Centre.

Partners across Ontario, including the de Souza Institute, Cancer Care Ontario, the University of Toronto, the University of Windsor, York University, Ryerson University and Beth Israel Medical Centre in New York City, generously contributed time and expertise to the development of NYGH's APN Fellowship in Palliative Care.

North York General Hospital, affiliated with the University of Toronto, is one of Canada's leading community academic hospitals. We offer our culturally diverse community a wide range of acute care, ambulatory and long-term care services across three sites. North York General takes a purposeful approach to meeting and exceeding patient's expectations. The patient experience is at the heart of everything we do.

SOURCE: North York General Hospital

CONTACT:

Elizabeth McCarthy, Senior Communications Specialist
North York General Hospital
P: 416-756-6725
E: [email protected]