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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ja nu ar y 14 ,2 02 1 | 16 husband and father re- spectively, at home until Ian died at the age of 59 from cancer. As a legacy to her husband, Anderson created the sanctuary and our communities are in- deed forever indebted to her for her generosity and vision. In a society where the topics of death and hos- pice care are better left to their needed time -- a time when families have no choice but to face the vul- My neighbour and his family decided Ian Ander- son House Hospice (IAH) was where he could be most comfortable. IAH is nestled next to Joshua Creek -- its grounds manicured and picturesque. When you enter the vestibule, the warmth and tranquility of the home is palpable. Its founder, Margaret Anderson, and her son Stuart, cared for their nerability and inevitabili- ty of the journey toward death -- IAH holds a very prominent place. It's where living each day in the most possible comfort surrounded by the warm embrace of fam- ily, friends, staff and vol- unteers is at the heart of its mission. I can attest to the high quality of care and what constitutes its philosophy because I have the honour of working there. Pain and symptom management that is ren- dered within a dignified approach is pivotal. There are no limits to how far the team and volunteers will go to ensure the highest degree of comfort and symptom management. Evidence-based tools are in practice. All do- mains are addressed, in- cluding the physical, spir- itual and psychosocial realms. Pharmacological care is complemented with nonpharmacological interventions. The pres- ence of staff sitting vigil at the bedside with residents who need that attention is another way to convey hu- man presence and touch. I will share two of the many experiences that re- flects the sanctuary's care philosophy. As one resident arrived on a stretcher in our vesti- bule, a staff looked into her tired eyes and voiced: "Are you ready for a lot of loving?" As I took my place in pushing the stretcher to her bedroom, another staff member fac- ing her in the hall con- veyed: "Welcome to our home" -- welcoming words indeed that reflect the resident and family experience from the mo- ment one is welcomed at the door of the home. The care of staff is a daily commitment on the part of the leadership team, and it is at a debrief session that I heard what I believe to be the epitome of an exceptional hospice care experience. One of our personal support workers had been offering a manicure to one of our very young resi- dents. As the resident soaked up the rays of the sun falling into her room, she shared this: "You know, there are times be- ing here, I forget that I am so sick." Transporting our residents to a tranquil, life-energizing place is within the repertoire of what the staff provide. Apart from the touch, sights and sounds, smells also play a role in the sanc- tuary experience. The smell and beauty of flow- ers adorn the rooms -- an- other one of the welcom- ing gestures that volun- teers afford the residents, families and staff. Life goes on as normal- ly as in our own homes. Music graces the bedroom ambience in keeping with the resident and family wishes. The smell of homemade baking fills the air as a volunteer goes about the day's baking. The care provided to our residents and families is free of charge, true to the hospice care philoso- phy. Given that the govern- ment funding does not cover all expenses, IAH does require fundraising. Anyone can donate at www.ianandersonhouse- .com. If you can support this cause, you are most gra- ciously thanked. You do not know when you or your family member may require the services of your neighbours at the sanctuary. Mary Lou Ip is a regis- tered nurse at Ian An- derson House Hospice. She can be reached at mip@acclaimhealth.ca. AN OASIS OF CARING IAN ANDERSON HOUSE OFFERS INCREDIBLE WARMTH AND TRANQUILITY, WRITES MARY LOU IP MARY LOU IP Column few minutes out of your day to help us deliver a clear and direct message to our federal, provincial and municipal political lead- ers: Enough is enough, im- mediate measurable action is required to address this crisis and save the lives of our vulnerable seniors and their caregivers. In recent days the focus on this crisis has intensi- fied and our political lead- ers have committed to more action, in particular the imminent priority vac- cination of long-term-care residents and staff. Unfortunately, the plans and timelines are un- clear and the action is not being taken fast enough to save lives. We must ensure that meaningful action is taken immediately. We must also take steps now to focus on several lon- ger-term systemic initia- tives to fundamentally change the relationships among government, busi- ness and our elders and re- lated health-care staff. We believe the five ac- tionable items below are needed to save lives and provide the humane, re- spectful care that our vul- nerable seniors and their caregivers deserve: First, the province of Ontario must immediately deploy rapid COVID tests into long-term-care facili- ties to test residents and staff and commit to vacci- nating all long-term-care residents and staff by Feb. 15, 2021. Provincial and mu- nicipal authorities must work collaboratively to en- sure all measures are tak- en to support these imme- diate vaccinations. Federal authorities should volunteer the de- ployment of military health-care professionals as necessary to support this initiative. As part of this commit- ment, provincial authori- ties must immediately es- tablish a public tracking system to record and re- port vaccinations deliv- ered on a facility-by-facili- ty basis. Second, the province of Ontario must immediately reinstate the mandatory inspection regime and in- troduce mandatory public reporting of all long-term- care facilities, focused on infections, medical supply and long-term-care staff availability, and appropri- ate access to local hospital- ization and specialized care. Provincial and mu- nicipal inspectors who are currently under-utilized, such as health inspectors, should be deployed to as- sist this program. Third, both the province of Ontario and the govern- ment of Canada must pro- vide $100 million in imme- diate emergency funds to hire additional full-time long-term-care staff and raise the wages for all long- term-care workers as the government of Quebec has recently instituted. Fourth, the province of Ontario must establish an emergency rapid response task force comprised of trained infection-control health-care workers avail- able to act immediately as emergencies are identified. Fifth, the government of Canada and the province of Ontario must appoint inde- pendent federal and pro- vincial ombuds, respec- tively, with a national reg- ulatory authority attached to Health Canada, to re- ceive and review all com- plaints and investigations from long-term-care resi- dents, their families and long-term-care staff to oversee strict new long- term-care standards relat- ed to ensuring humane care and residents' rights, staffing and pay levels, building designs and usage of funds. We believe that Ontari- ans want immediate action on these above-noted items and we urge our political leaders to take these ac- tions to heart and move with haste to save lives. We commit to closely tracking the weekly prog- ress of our key elected offi- cials on these requests and to measuring their perfor- mance. We ask that you and your family and friends help by signing this letter or sending your own "call for action" directly to your elected municipal, provin- cial and federal politicians. Please scan the QR code be- low or visit thestar.com/ltc to ensure your voice is heard on this life-and- death matter. Together we can make meaningful change that will directly result in sav- ing the lives of our most vulnerable seniors. Paul Rivett and Jordan Bitove Co-proprietors of Torstar OPINION SITUATION HAS ONLY WORSENED WITH PANDEMIC Continued from front JORDAN BITOVE PAUL RIVETT