Be part of a community of practice with the Palliative Care ECHO Project.
We’re dedicated to supporting a continuous learning journey for health care professionals to build local capacity to provide a palliative care approach to patients and their families.
As a capacity-building tele-mentoring program, the Palliative Care ECHO Project is designed to create virtual communities of learners by bringing together local healthcare providers (and community leaders) with regional, provincial/territorial, and national subject matter experts for continuous learning, deep-dive learning opportunities, brief lecture presentations, and quality improvement discussions, fostering an “all learn, all teach” approach.
Why is this important
Many Canadian health care professionals do not have the required fundamental skills to provide a palliative care approach and the over-reliance on specialist palliative care teams is unsustainable.
There is a need to address equity issues in many parts of Canada related to accessing palliative care clinical support and education, especially in rural and remote regions and Indigenous communities.
We require sustainable infrastructure to rapidly capture and share palliative care knowledge, tools, resources, and protocol changes among health care teams across the country.
Health care professionals from all regions and across all professions have demonstrated personal leadership and a desire to acquire the necessary skills to provide better palliative care to patients.
Continuous professional development is a vital element in career growth for health care professionals.
How the project works
The power of ECHO is in its connectivity. ECHO uses a “hub and spoke” education model to connect health care providers in communities (“spokes”) with teams of specialists and experts at regional and national centers (the “hub”).
The creation of hubs is the anchor of the overarching model and exists to be more responsive to local, regional and provincial, or sector-specific needs.
The spokes represent the various communities (e.g., family health teams, paramedics) and settings of care (e.g., long-term care residences, home care) that are served by a hub. Health care professionals who work within these spokes are the beneficiaries of the various palliative care educational interventions created by the hub and by Pallium that will enhance their learning and practice.
Pallium’s role
Pallium Canada’s role is to coordinate and connect the system of hubs across Canada, curate and develop content to support hub partners (and their spokes) in meeting their local needs, deliver national palliative care programming, and lead the overall evaluation of the Project’s impacts and reporting.
Connect and take part
It only takes a minute to connect and become part of this community of practice that is sharing knowledge, tools, and resources on palliative care for health care professionals.
Pallium is looking to engage with new partners across Canada to improve palliative care capacity. If your organization is interested in working with us on this exciting initiative, please submit the form below.
If you are a health care professional looking to take part in the Palliative Care ECHO Project, please fill out this form and stay connected. We’ll keep you up to date with updates and progress, every step of the way.
Upcoming National ECHO Sessions
National ECHO programming is free for all health care professionals to participate in. Some ECHO sessions are targeted to specific professions or practice areas.
Personal Support Worker Community of Practice Series
Come be part of the Palliative Care ECHO Project’s new community of practice for personal support workers. This community of practice is for those interested in connecting with peers in sessions that are facilitated by practice coaches. Participants will have opportunities to bring knowledge to action in quality palliative care delivery, skill building through case-based discussions, shared experience, practice pearls, gold standard tools, breakout rooms, role play, etc. This community of practice is a welcoming and encouraging space that invites reflective practice, dialogue, transparency, and peer-to-peer connection.
This series is made up of 14 sessions taking place between November 2021 – May 2022. We encourage registrants to attend as many sessions as possible, although it is not mandatory to attend every session. Recordings will be made available to registrants.
It only takes a moment to register to be a part of the personal support worker community of practice. Fill in your information and select which sessions you would like to register for and an e-mail will be sent to you with a summary of your selections. You will be kept up to date with information about the sessions you have registered for.
By registering for these webinars, I agree to Pallium Canada’s privacy policy
Long-Term Care Community of Practice Series
This community of practice is for health care professionals, administrators, and system leaders working in long-term care. Participants will have the opportunity to build on foundational palliative care knowledge and practice their skills through a 13-part series that will include knowledge exchange opportunities and interactive, case-based discussions.
Each session is accredited (this 1-credit-per-hour Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for up to 12 Mainpro+ credits).
- Introductory Session – session was held on December 9, 2021
- The Palliative Approach as Part of the Continuum of Care – session was held on January 13, 2022
- The Palliative Approach as an Inter-Professional, Team-Based Approach – February 10, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Individuals and their Families as Members of the Team – March 10, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Advance Care Planning – April 14, 2022 @ 12:30 – 1:30 pm ET
- Resources for LTC: Pre and Post Pandemic – May 12, 2022 @ 12:30 – 1:30 pm ET
- Spiritual and Religious Care as Part of the Holistic Approach – June 9, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Supporting New Team Members – July 14, 2022, @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Honouring Personhood in Dementia Care – August 11, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Diversity and Inclusion in the Long-Term Care Setting – September 8, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Meaningful Measurement to Support Health System Improvements in Long-Term Care – October 13, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Mental Health and Resilience During the COVID Pandemic: Part 1 – November 10, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Mental Health and Resilience During the COVID Pandemic: Part 2 – December 8, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
We encourage registrants to participate in as many sessions in the series as possible, although it is not required. A recording will be shared for all sessions missed.
Registration instructions:
Registration for this community of practice takes place in Pallium Central.
- Click here to visit Pallium Central and login or create an account
- Select Long-Term Care Community of Practice
- Type in the enrollment key: LTC2122
Heart Disease Community of Practice Series
This is an exciting opportunity for interprofessional, palliative care clinicians with an interest in heart disease and heart disease specialists with a passion for palliative care to learn how to integrate palliative care into the cardiac programs and services that they offer. This community of practice explores existing and emerging models of care for various settings, including home care, ambulatory care, and in-patient settings. Come connect with a national community of cardiology experts who are working to improve the quality of life of their patients and provide better palliative care.
Each session is accredited (this 1-credit-per-hour Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for up to 4 Mainpro+ credits).
- Overview of Models of Care in Different Care Settings – session was held on January 11, 2022
- Models of Care in the Home Care Setting – February 9, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Models of Care in the Ambulatory Setting – March 9, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
- Models of Care in the In-Patient Setting – April 13, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
We encourage registrants to participate in as many sessions in the series as possible, although it is not required. A recording will be shared for all sessions missed.
Registration instructions:
Registration for this community of practice takes place in Pallium Central.
- Click here to visit Pallium Central and login or create an account
- Select Heart Disease Community of Practice
- Type in the enrollment key: HEART22
Information sessions - CAPACITI Program
Wednesday January 19, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET or Thursday February 24, 2022 @ 4:00 – 5:00 pm ET
Do you want to integrate an early approach to palliative care in your practice? These two sessions provide an introduction to CAPACITI, a free education program for interprofessional primary care teams across Canada to learn how to integrate a palliative care approach in their practices.
Watch CAPACITI’s promotional video
Journal Watch Program
Monday January 24, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
Want to keep up to date on the latest in palliative care literature?
The Journal Watch Program will be an ongoing Palliative Care ECHO Project series in collaboration with McMaster University and Queen’s University. This program will support continuing professional development for health care professionals across different professions and care settings (providing both specialist and generalist-level palliative care).
A team of subject matter experts from McMaster University and Queen’s University will be regularly monitoring Journals to choose noteworthy palliative care-related publications focused on practice change and systems design in palliative care.
Register to attend the first webinar of the program with Dr. José Pereira and Dr. Leonie Herx who will provide context on the articles and key topics identified in the literature.
Community-Based Primary Palliative Care Community of Practice Series
This community of practice (CoP) focuses on supporting primary care clinicians to integrate primary palliative care in their practices. This program is geared towards any primary health care provider (e.g., physician, nurse, allied health professional). Sessions within this CoP cover topics such as: managing complex pain and symptom management, building on essential communication skills, supporting patients being cared for in the home, access resources in the community and providing bereavement care in the context of complex grief.
Each session is accredited (this 1-credit-per-hour Group Learning program has been certified by the College of Family Physicians of Canada for up to 11 Mainpro+ credits).
- Symptom Management – February 16, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Managing Complex Pain – March 2, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Managing the Last Hours of Life in the Home – March 16, 202 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Beyond the Essential Communications Skills Part 1 – March 30, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Beyond the Essential Communication Skills Part 2 – April 13, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Beyond the Essential Communication Skills Part 3 – April 27, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Grief in Children – May 11, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Teamwork in Primary Palliative Care – May 25, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Grief and Bereavement: Identifying and Managing Complex Grief – June 8, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Community Palliative Resources – June 22, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
- Organizing Practices to Provide Primary Palliative Care – July 6, 2022 @ 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
We encourage registrants to participate in as many sessions in the series as possible, although it is not required. A recording will be shared for all sessions missed.
Registration instructions:
Registration for this community of practice takes place in Pallium Central.
- Click here to visit Pallium Central and login or create an account
- Select Community-Based Primary Palliative Care Community of Practice
- Type in the enrollment key: CBPP2122
Enabling Canadians to Support Caregivers by Strengthening Care Connections
Tuesday February 15, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
Did you know 8.1 million Canadians are currently providing care to someone they care about? Caregivers provide about 80% of the care a patient receives in the last year of life. Pallium’s Care Connections Program strives to increase care connections that will support caregivers.
This webinar explores the Care Connections Program which consists of a suite of resources and activities every Canadian can engage in to support the caregiving journey. The primary tool used within this program is the Atlas CareMap, which creates a simple visual diagram of the people involved in providing care to a caregiver or care recipient.
Participants are encouraged to register for the Atlas CareMap workshops on March 23 and/or March 29 to learn how to create their own care map.
The Sustainability Guide - Helping Compassionate Community Initiatives Achieve Impact
Thursday February 17, 2022 @ 2:00 – 3:30 pm ET
The Compassionate Communities Sustainability Guide strengthens Compassionate Community initiatives by equipping those supporting and leading the work with best practices for sustainable community-led initiatives, tools to initiate these best practices, and case studies. This guide builds off the startup phase and helps Compassionate Communities with the next phase of development—scale and spread.
This session is co-hosted by Public Health Palliative Care International and explores how to use the guide and provide an overview of best practices when it comes to creating social change.
We encourage you to download a copy of the Compassionate Communities Sustainability Guide prior to the session.
Atlas CareMap Workshop with Compassionate Communities Kingston
Wednesday March 23, 2022 @ 6:00 – 7:30 pm ET
An Atlas CareMap is a visual diagram highlighting the caregiver’s journey and those who care for the caregiver and care recipient. Creating a caregiver’s care map increases the understanding of their journey, who is involved, and where additional care connections will provide additional support.
This workshop is co-hosted by Compassionate Communities Kingston and helps participants create their map, reflect on it, explore areas for additional help, and learn how to share their map to increase their support network. Participants will also learn about the many free resources they can use to help others create their care map within the community or a health care practice.
Participants are encouraged to attend the webinar “Enabling Canadians to Support Caregivers by Strengthening Care Connections” on February 15, 2022 before this workshop. This webinar will provide background and research on the Atlas CareMap and the Care Connections Program.
Atlas CareMap Workshop with Dorothy Ley Hospice
Tuesday March 29, 2022 @ 12:00 – 1:30 pm ET
An Atlas CareMap is a visual diagram highlighting the caregiver’s journey and those who care for the caregiver and care recipient. Creating a caregiver’s care map will increase the understanding of their journey, who is involved, and where additional care connections will provide additional support.
This workshop is co-hosted by Dorothy Ley Hospice and will help participants create their map, reflect on it, explore areas for additional help, and learn how to share their map to increase their support network. Participants will also learn about the many free resources they can use to help others create their care map within the community or a health care practice.
Participants are encouraged to attend the webinar “Enabling Canadians to Support Caregivers by Strengthening Care Connections” on February 15, 2022 before this workshop. This webinar will provide background and research on the Atlas CareMap and the Care Connections Program.
Past National ECHO Sessions
Find the recordings, Q&As, and PowerPoint presentations of our past sessions here.
7 Keys to Delivering Palliative Care Upstream: What We Learned From 1,000 Patients and Families
Health care providers know that integrating an early palliative care approach is difficult, in part because palliative care is associated with death and dying. As a result, palliative care is more commonly delivered at end of life or the “11th hour.” The presenters have talked with thousands of patients and families to uncover 7 keys to enable an early approach to palliative care.
QI Collaborative: Identify Patients with Palliative Care Needs
Session One – May 21, 2021 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
Session Two – June 18, 2021 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
Session Three -September 17, 2021 @ 12:00 – 1:00 pm ET
This ECHO series is designed to help coach family health practices who would like to make improvements in identifying patients earlier who could benefit from a palliative care approach.
Personal Support Worker Series - Session One
The Role of Personal Support Workers in Palliative Care
This session explores the role of personal support workers and health care aides/assistants in palliative care and as part of the health care team caring for patients with life-limiting illnesses, and their families.
Taking Vitals: The SCQ—The Evidence, Development, and Clinical Necessity of a Measure to Routinely Assess Patients Experiences of Compassion
This session discusses the importance of compassion in quality palliative care and viewers are introduced to the Sinclair Compassion Questionnaire (SCQ), a tool for health care providers to utilize to improve patients experiences of care.
Personal Support Worker Series - Session Three
Personal Support Workers and Challenging Conversations
Challenging conversations related to end-of-life care can be difficult and uncomfortable. In this free ECHO session, the presenters will provide advice and suggestions on how to handle these exchanges in a professional, empathic, and compassionate way. Learn how our own personal feelings, emotions, and anxiety can influence and affect these conversations. Participants will practice new communication strategies and prepare a blueprint of action for future challenging conversations.
Information Session – The CAPACITI program
This session provides an introduction to CAPACITI, a free education program for interprofessional primary care teams across Canada to learn how to integrate a palliative care approach in their practices. This session is for anyone who may be interested in participating in the CAPACITI program but would like to learn more.
World Hospice and Palliative Care Day Special Lecture
This lecture is honours international leaders in the field of hospice palliative care and to provide a platform to spread hospice and palliative care awareness and knowledge. Professor Irene J. Higginson will address hospice palliative care service provision in times of crisis and link to the theme of the World Day: Equity in Access to Palliative Care.
A Culture of Compassion in Canadian Workplaces
Canadians spend a large part of their adult life in the workplace, and a positive workplace culture is critical both for the success of the organization and the well-being of employees. The burden of caregiving, grief and serious illness affects all Canadians and can have serious impacts on employee wellness, engagement and productivity. A compassionate company and workplace culture can provide support to employees in their time of need and help build stronger workplaces and stronger communities.
Personal Support Worker - Community of Practice Series
This community of practice is for those interested in connecting with peers in sessions that are facilitated by practice coaches. Participants will have opportunities to bring knowledge to action in quality palliative care delivery, skill building through case-based discussions, shared experience, practice pearls, gold standard tools, breakout rooms, role play, etc.
This series is made up of 14 sessions from November 2021 – May 2022. Recordings are made available to those who register for the sessions.
Introductory Session – PowerPoint
Essential Communication Skills Part 1 – PowerPoint
Fin de vie de maladies neurologiques dégénératives (French only)
This session focuses on end of life of degenerative neurological diseases such as Dementia, Cerebrovascular Disease, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis, and ALS. Participants will learn the common trajectory of degenerative neurological diseases, frequent complications of these diseases, symptoms at the end of life of degenerative neurological diseases, and early identification of the end of neurological life.
Practical Cannabis for Patients with Palliative Needs
This session provides a practical overview of the potential benefits and harms of using cannabis for symptom management in patients with palliative care needs.
Pour une approche palliative intégrée: Optimiser la communication entre les intervenants de première ligne et les équipes hospitalières (French only)
This session focuses on how to identify patients who may benefit from palliative care and detect the warning signs of end of life, how to engage in a discussion of goals of care with patients, and how to communicate this information effectively.
Past ECHO Project newsletters
Interested in what the Palliative Care ECHO Project has been up to this far? Get up to date by viewing our past ECHO Project newsletters below:
Hub Partners
Hub partners are at the heart of the Palliative Care ECHO Project and are critical to adapting the Project programming to meet their stakeholders’ needs. Through the leadership of these amazing organizations, existing programs and resources can reach more health care providers and learners and new content and programming can be rapidly shared, developed, and deployed to fill gaps and enhance learning opportunities.
Semi-Annual Reports
Check out the Palliative Care ECHO Project’s latest Semi-Annual Report to learn more about key accomplishments, impact, and evaluation.
FAQ
For more details on the Palliative Care ECHO Project, please access our Frequently Asked Questions
About ECHO
Project ECHO (which stands for Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes) was developed in 2003. It is a hub and spoke model that connects primary care providers to specialists to support learning for the care of their patients.
At its heart is videoconferencing that connects health care providers in communities (“spokes”) with teams of specialists and experts at regional and national centers (“hubs”) to to provide comprehensive recommendations for treatment, and in some cases includes patients in these discussions for direct consultations.
The hubs are at the heart of the ECHO model and are critical to adapting ECHO to meet local or regional needs by integrating ECHO sessions with existing educational, capacity building and support programs.
Funding acknowledgement
The Palliative Care ECHO Project is supported by a financial contribution from Health Canada. The views expressed herein do not necessarily represent the views of Health Canada.
