Dufferin Oaks to host 1st Annual Craft sale: Dec. 6th

November 26, 2014 · 0 Comments

Dufferin Oaks will be hosting their first annual craft sale, “With These Hands” on Saturday December 6th from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. in support of their Palliative Care Program.
The Palliative Care Team holds many fund raisers to support Palliative Care at Dufferin Oaks. They hold an annual Easter Bake Sale the Thursday before Easter, Fall Farmer’s Market and Bake Sale in early September where staff, families and friends of Dufferin Oaks donate fresh garden produce, canning and baked goods. As well they have also held two very successful spring garage sales.
The money raised goes toward staff education in palliative care, cozy comfort gowns, bedding and special supplies for their palliative residents and their families. As families are encouraged and supported in being with their loved one receiving palliative care, the team has purchased recliner chairs that convert to beds for family members staying overnight. They have also funded Art Therapy to support resident’s dealing with grief, loss and bereavement.
Palliative care is a very important part of the care and services provide at Dufferin Oaks. According to the World Health Organization, “palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual. Palliative care provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms; affirms life and regards dying as a normal process; intends neither to hasten or postpone death; integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care; offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death; offers a support system to help the family cope during the patients illness and in their own bereavement; uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families, including bereavement counselling, if indicated; will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence the course of illness; is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing clinical complications.”
Funds raised by the palliative care team from this year’s craft sale will go to an exciting new initiative; becoming a “Music and Memory Certified” home. Personalized music play lists have been shown to be very effective with many residents in addressing loneliness, anxiety, boredom and behavioural issues as well as stimulating recall and improved memory. It is particularly helpful for those with dementia. As dementia is a progressive terminal condition with no known cure, music intervention can be seen as a palliative measure for helping residents cope with this distressing disease. In aide of this exciting venture, Dufferin Oaks will be looking for donations of gently used iPod and iPhones.