The Westlock and District Palliative Care Society has a nine-year history of helping area residents cope with terminal illness.
Officially formed in 2005 after many months spent getting off the ground, the society has filled the need in the community for a way to help families dealing with the imminent death of a loved one, or terminal patients who are alone because their family is too far away or they have no family.
“We have trained volunteers available to provide comfort and support to anyone who is terminally ill and their families if they want help or support,” said society president Linda Futoransky.
Society volunteers are more than willing to visit people at home, at the hospital or at the long-term care facility, Futoransky said.
It’s also a way to provide support and companionship at a very difficult time, said past president Billie Kent-Clarke.
The society does not provide any medical care, Futoransky said, but it does give people information they may need to make the situation go smoother, including names of lawyers to help prepare wills, or names of religious officials for patients or family members who want that level of comfort.
“There are lots of things we can help them with or we can find out for them,” she said.
Support provided by the society is not limited to the patients and family members going through the grieving process, Kent-Clarke added. It is also available to those family members who are directly involved with helping the patient.
She explained that in some cases, although the entire family is present, there is only one person dealing with the patient because the rest of the family is having difficulty coping and providing much-needed support.
“The family shies away,” Kent-Clarke said. “They go into denial and they don’t want to deal with that, so this person who’s standing alone in the family can have no support.”
“It’s a very unique time in a person’s life and unless you’ve been through it, you don’t really know how emotional and upsetting it is,” she added.
The society also provides one service in which its involvement is fairly limited.
The Serenity Lounge is located at the Westlock hospital, and gives family members a quiet place to get away from the general hustle and bustle of the hospital. It allows them the privacy to talk, reflect and just be together during a trying time.
Futoransky said the society was “very instrumental” in getting the room set up.
Anyone looking for more information about the Westlock and District Palliative Care Society is invited to call Futoransky at 780-349-5785.
