Thank you. I apologize as well for our technical difficulties.
Good evening, and thank you for the opportunity to speak with you. This is very important to us. My name is Donna Cansfield and I am chair of The Dorothy Ley Hospice board of directors. I have served as both a volunteer caregiver and a member of the board in my over 30 years of involvement with the hospice.
I support an individual's choice at the end of life, but choice involves options. One option is the support of end-of-life palliative care that's provided not only in the community but also at a residential hospice. Palliative care must be available to all members of our diverse community, recognizing and respecting cultural differences, language restrictions and limited family support. Supporting an individual and their families is what we do.
Through care provided in the home with palliative physicians or at a hospice residence, respite support for caregivers provided by trained volunteers, day programs, ambulatory service care at a hospice and bereavement support for families, we navigate the complex health system for families that are frustrated with systems that rarely speaks to one another. We keep clients out of emergency departments and out of hospital beds.
This is done through kindness, caring and our amazing staff. This is what we do. It's an extremely less expensive option, and it has been our experience that it's an option often chosen instead of MAID. However, we still support the decision of the individual, and we also provide support if asked to do so.
If you want to help us and you believe in hospice palliative care, we could use your support, which would help others.