HCO Staff Hikers - Jamie Roach

I am once again hiking in memory of my mother. In 2020 she was diagnosed with cancer and after a very brief fight, she passed away. While my mum was not in a hospice at the end of her life, after coming to work for Hospice Care Ottawa, I wonder how our journey could have been different. The care and support that I witness everyday by our staff and volunteers is something that I wish we could have had the opportunity to plan for with my mum.

Our programs and services is made possible through the support of our dedicated staff, amazing volunteers and generous donors. A residential hospice bed costs $439 per day to operate vs. at least $850 per day for an acute care bed. Government funding only covers 56% of the daily cost of a residential hospice bed, the remainder has to be fundraised. Ontario has committed to working to provide patients with more choices for palliative and end of life care, until they are able to fully fund Hospices, Hospice Care Ottawa survives because of donations. Hike for Hospice is one of our annual fundraising campaigns that help us reach our goal each year.

Please consider donating to my team. Your donations will help fund the programs and care for patients and their families during their end of life journey.