02/17/09

Valentine’s Day Gala Marks its 11^th year and still going Strong!

KIRKLAND, February 13th, 2010 – Last night more than 500 West Islanders participated in a truly spectacular evening of great food, music and dancing in support of the West Island Palliative Care Residence. The 11th annual St. Valentine’s Gala, A Fantasy in Pink, held at the Château-Vaudreuil pavilion was once again sold out. Guests were treated to words from Montreal Canadiens hockey legend and honorary guest, Ken Dryden. Andrew Carter, morning man on CJAD and MNA Yolande James shared the stage as MC's for the evening. Also among the guests were Anthony Calvillo, and Otis Grant. The event raised $250,000, including $40,000 from the silent auction. Remarkably, the Gala has raised more than $2 million dollars in the last 11 years.

The Black tie event is the year’s biggest fundraiser for the non-profit Residence. The free-standing hospice, which is the first of its kind in Montreal, provides a special type of care for terminally-ill people to live out their final days in comfort and dignity. Recognized across the province and Canada for their excellence in the field of hospice care, the nine-bed home-like facility has welcomed more than 1450 patients in the final stages of ALS, MS, Cardio disease or Cancer.

Teresa Dellar, the West Island Palliative Care Residence’s Executive Director, acknowledges that the Gala’s continued success is made possible by the support of the West Island community and its leaders. “We would like to thank the event’s platinum sponsors: Pfizer Canada, TASK Micro-Electronics and a friend of the Residence; as well as our gold sponsors: Avon, Diane Demers, the City of Pointe-Claire, and Swiss International Air lines. Oh behalf of our Honorary President John DiGenova, our Gala chair, Lori Morris and the 2010 Gala committee I would like to extend our heartfelt thanks to all of our guests. Your participation in this wonderful event enables us to continue to provide our patients with the best possible quality of life and care during the final stages of their illness."

Each year, the Residence must raise approximately $ 1,800,000 to remain operational. The Quebec Government contributes 725,000$ annually to this budget.

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01/12/10

2010 Valentine's Gala Sold Out!

Once again a sold out crowd of more than 500 West Islanders will enjoy an evening of great food, music and dancing on February 12^th 2010, to help raise funds for the West Island Palliative Care Residence. The annual St. Valentine’s Day Gala at Château Vaudreuil Hotel is already on it's way to being another huge success. Over the last 11 years, the event has helped raised more than 1.8 million dollars for the Foundation.  The event is the biggest annual fundraiser for the non-profit Residence.

“I am so touched by the support West Islanders continue to show for the Residence,” said Executive Director Teresa Dellar. “It belongs to our community and its success depends on the community’s generosity.”

For information on sponsorship opportunities at this event please contact
Andrea Gordon 514-693-1718 x 227

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10/20/09

Montreal Palliative Care Nurse- Rose De Angelis -
Receives Canadian Award

Montreal, Monday, October 19, 2005 – The West Island Palliative Care Residence announced today that Rose De Angelis, Nursing Director and Assistant Executive Director, is the recipient of the 2009 Award of Excellence from the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association.

This award, one of Canada’s highest honours for palliative care, recognizes the outstanding national contribution of a member of the association who exemplifies professional and/or personal commitment and achievement in the field of hospice palliative care in Canada. The award was publicly announced in Winnipeg yesterday at the association’s annual conference.

Rose De Angelis manages, coaches, and motivates an inter-disciplinary team at the West Island Palliative Care Residence. She counsels patients and their family members and educates and sensitizes the community to better understand what palliative care is. She was chosen for the Award of Excellence for her tireless efforts in the coordination and development of best palliative care practices first at the Royal Victoria Hospital and then as part of the founding team at Montreal’s West Island Palliative Care Residence.

“Palliative Care is something I never heard of until I enrolled in graduate school at McGill,” said Rose. “Even death as a topic was not covered in my basic nursing education. I wondered since death was something we were all going to experience, why was the subject taboo? As a young critical care nurse working in various hospital units, I questioned myself when we lost a patient had I said the right thing to help the family?”

In 1999, Rose made the move from saving lives to accompanying people who were dying, when she migrated from critical care to palliative care at the Royal Vic. It was there that she learned what it meant to work with terminally ill patients, coordinating their care, managing symptoms and pain, arranging home care follow-up with community services, counseling patients and families, educating other health care professionals in demystifying palliative care and helping understand end-of-life-decisions. When the opportunity arose in 2002 to be part of the new West Island Palliative Care Residence, she jumped at the chance.

Educating others about palliative care is extremely important to her. In addition to her work at the Residence, she is a guest lecturer in palliative care nursing at Montreal CEGEPs, McGill University and regional, national and international conferences. Now that she is more comfortable with many of the patient situations that she struggled with as a young nurse, she encourages those dealing with the terminally ill patients and their families how to better understand their situations.

“The West Island Palliative Care Residence is lucky to have someone as dedicated as Rose De Angelis”, said Teresa Dellar, co-founder and Executive Director. “It is our mission not only to offer a comfortable home-like environment for our patients, but to be a Canadian center of excellence in our care.”

About the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association Excellence Award

The CPHPA bestows an annual Award of Excellence following a nomination and consultation process. The award is provided for an exceptional contribution to the development of quality palliative care for Canadians.

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06/08/09

Congratulations to our Lottery winners!!

1^er PRIX / 1^st PRIZE : 10 000$

Gagnant / Winner : Paul Schmeider

2^e PRIX : Location de 2 ans d’un modèle Hyundai Accent LS

2^nd PRIZE: 2 year lease of a Hyundai Accent LS (Valeur / Value 8 000$)

COMMANDITE PAR RBC / SPONSORED BY RBC

Gagnant / Winner : Irene Fahy

3^e PRIX / 3^rd PRIZE : 5 000$

Gagnant / Winner : Jim Parsons

4^e PRIX : Téléviseur à écran plat ACL de 40 po

4^th PRIZE : 40” Samsung LCD television   (Valeur / Value 1 000$)

Gagnant / Winner : Linda Nicholls

05/04/09

Welcome to our NEW WEBSITE!

On May 1^st 2009 the West Island Palliative Care Residence launched
the redesigned website. The vibrant new look, new features and new
layout of the site were designed to facilitate your on-line experience.

This interactive site, which has been created by John Cho Designs,
aims to give the West Island Palliative Care Residence a clean and
professional look that not only fits with our mission, but allows us to stay competitive and current in the on-line world. Throughout its pages you will
find a wealth of information on topics such as patient admission
procedures, volunteering, various ways to donate, and of course upcoming fundraising events.

Several new features have been added to site. Items such as a search
bar at the top of the page and a prominent events calendar make it much
easier for you to find the information you need quickly. In addition, the
new Donate button, which is visible on every screen in the top right hand
corner, will simplify the way you can make online donations. Another feature
we've added is the media page (located under the About Us tab). Here you
can view pictures and videos, listen to sound clips and read newspaper
articles about the Residence.

Like many charities, in the last few years we have seen a shift in how
donors now use websites. It is certain that people are becoming much
more comfortable with online financial transactions; they also expect sites
to be user-friendly, sophisticated and up-to date. What's more, the website
is often the best way for a donor to get an inside glimpse of the organization.
Our goal with this new site is to offer you a virtual look at who we are and
what we do while adding functionality, updated content and a more elegant
look. Enjoy!

Sincerely,
The staff at the West Island Palliative Care Residence