Canuck Place Children's Hospice opened its doors in 1995, offering specialized care for children with progressive life-threatening illnesses and their families

Thanks to funding support from individuals, organizations and corporations, hundreds of families from across British Columbia have access to Canuck Place's services, at no cost

Canuck Place is the first free-standing hospice for children in North America and its model of care has been used for many hospices including:

• Rotary/Flames House in Calgary;
• Roger’s House in Ottawa;
• Darling Home for Kids near Toronto;
• The Lighthouse in Montreal; and
• other hospices in the United States and abroad.

The goal of this specialized care, known as pediatric palliative care, is to enhance the comfort and quality of life for both the child and their family.  It is achieved through the combination of active and compassionate therapies. Palliative care strives to support children and families by assisting them in fulfilling their physical, psychological, social and spiritual goals while remaining sensitive to personal, cultural and religious values, beliefs and practices.

Canuck Place provides a continuum of care that includes:

• Respite Care: 24-hour care of children at the hospice, on a temporary basis, to allow their families time for rest and renewal;
• Transition Care: services for children in the program who can leave the hospital but whose home or community are not yet ready to provide the necessary services, i.e. wheelchair access, nursing or physical therapy;
• Symptom Management: active care aimed at managing the adverse physical and emotional symptoms of the child’s illness and/or side effects of treatments;
• End of Life Care: comprehensive services for both the child and family when the child’s death is expected to be imminent.
• Grief Support and Bereavement: care from the time of a child’s diagnosis, throughout their illness and after their death, counselling and therapies are offered for the child and their family members. Consultation and support are also made available to others involved in the child and family’s life.

At Canuck Place, paediatric palliative care is planned and delivered through the collaborative efforts of an interdisciplinary team. Canuck Place can accommodate up to nine children and four families during their stay. In addition to in-hospice care, consultation, education and support services are part of the Canuck Place program throughout the province.