Hospice Overview

Perram House History and Background Information:

Perram House had its roots in a visiting hospice in 1988, as The White Light Hospice, founded by Anne Norris. It struggled for years as an organization for it lacked operational infrastructure as well as government and community support.

In 2003, the hospice closed its doors to reorganize, rebuild and renovate. Emerging as Perram House in 2005, named after the building’s original owner, Mary Anne Perram, it was awarded an Ontario Trillium Foundation Capital Grant; one year later, in the spring of 2006, it reopened its doors as a fully renovated eight-bed facility with continuous nursing and personal support care now funded by the Ontario Government through the Toronto Community Care Access Centre (CCAC).

 

There are obvious financial responsibilities associated with operating the home environment of a residential hospice for our clients. Although the operational portion of the budget is largely achieved through fundraising and private donations, the efficiency of delivering the mission of Perram House is optimized through the continued funding of the Ministry of Health and Long Term Care for the volunteer component of the program and the salary of the Volunteer Services Coordinator, with funding for volunteer training. The hospice is now fully operational and is pleased to offer the services of a Hospice Services Coordinator who synchronizes the services of the CCAC, Community and Perram House.

The Clinical Services Coordinator establishes contact with the medical health care community through an outreach strategy; additionally, the coordinator supervises clinical practice and clinical team building within the hospice. A cook who organizes menus and trains kitchen volunteers who support the cook in the delivery of home cooked meals. Medically, medical services are provided through a palliative care team of five physicians dedicated to this specialty in medicine. Although Perram House offers a formal medical and nursing care within the familiar routines of a home, its infrastructure is a business model based upon best practices and the application of ISO procedures involving continuous feed back to support the delivery of quality care through professional programs

Hospice touches an entire community:

Hospice helps terminally ill patients – and parents, spouses, children, neighbours, employers, and all their families – manage the prospect of death.

Hospice is teamwork in the community and the home:

Teams of medical professional and trained volunteers work with patients and their families to provide hospice care in their homes or home-like settings (Perram House)

Hospice generates loyalty:

Family and friends touched by Hospice remember the people and organizations that helped them through difficult time. They become loyal proponents of Hospice and of those who support it. Hospice is non-profit and available to everyone Hospice services are provided without the regard for the ability to pay. Charitable contributions support services that are not covered by insurance or other means.