When we think of palliative care, we think of providing comfort for people in the last days of their life. But the philosophy behind palliative means so much more than that.
In addition to essential end-of-life care, palliative care at Sinai Health is dedicated to providing quality and dignity for patients and families who are living with a life-limiting illness – from the time of diagnosis, through managing pain, addressing active issues and preventing further complications, to finally helping patients and families cope with loss and grief.
At Sinai Health, we offer an integrated, comprehensive clinical and academic program in palliative care that focuses on innovative models of care. First introduced at Mount Sinai Hospital in 1989, palliative care at Sinai Health has evolved into a division that includes the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care providing home-based palliative services and in-patient consult services offered at Mount Sinai and the in-patient Albert & Temmy Latner Family Palliative Care Unit at Bridgepoint Active Healthcare. Overall, we are uniquely situated to reach a large patient population. Last year our team helped care for over 700 people in the hospital and another 2,200 patients at home. We did more than 9,000 house calls and more than 9,000 telemedicine calls. Our referrals grow by 5-10% year over year.
This May, Sinai Health is making another investment in palliative care with the move of the Albert & Temmy Latner Family Palliative Care Unit to the 10th floor at Bridgepoint, allowing us to operationalize our amazing campus as it was originally intended. The 24 beds on this floor are single, private rooms and patients will have immediate access to the rooftop terrace. All patient rooms have space for lounge chairs so caregivers can spend the night with their loved ones. This represents a huge milestone for Sinai Health, and we are proud to have new opportunities to provide quality care to patients and families in this beautiful space.
We Are Leaders
- The Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care is the first organized home palliative care program in Ontario, and now the largest in Canada.
- We have worked with local partners to help develop palliative care programs in Brazil, Thailand, Malawi and Trinidad and Tobago.
- Care is provided by a robust inter-professional team that includes nursing, social work, dietitians, physiotherapy, occupational therapy, recreational therapy, speech language therapy, spiritual care and volunteers, and supported by research.
34 physicians
on the palliative care team
95 per cent
of patient care concerns addressed within 24 hours
9,000 + 9,000
home visits and telephone contacts per year
To learn more, stay tuned here and across our social media channels throughout the month and follow the hashtags #SinaiStories and #SinaiResearch.