Ontario Expanding, Investing in Palliative Care in Oxford

June 22, 2023

WOODSTOCK — As part of Your Health: A Plan for Connected and Convenient Care, the Ontario government is expanding access to palliative care services in Oxford. This is part of Ontario’s $147.4 million investment over three years in communities across the province to connect more Ontarians to comfortable and dignified palliative care close to home and loved ones.

“I’m pleased that VON Sakura House is going to receive a portion of this important palliative care funding,” said Ernie Hardeman, MPP for Oxford. “The wonderful services provided by Sakura House support patients and their families with 24/7 nursing and personal support service in a setting that’s like being at home.”

A portion of this funding will be used to connect people to more palliative and end-of-life services across Ontario including:

• Grief and bereavement supports that help families and caregivers who are grieving the loss of a loved one;
• Advance care planning to help patients and families prepare for future health care decisions; and
• Perinatal palliative care programs that provide specialized grief, bereavement, and peer support that help parents prepare for the loss of their infant.

In addition to expanding palliative care services across the province, this investment will provide existing residential hospice beds in Oxford with over $473,000 in additional funding over the next two years for nursing, personal support, and other services delivered to patients at VON Sakura House. Ontario is investing over $53.8 million over the next two years to increase funding by 45 per cent for all approved hospice beds in Ontario, plus an additional increase for hospice beds in small facilities.

The provincial investment also includes $10.9 million in multiyear funding to continue operations of 23 additional residential hospice beds through the 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26 fiscal years.