MEDIA ADVISORY

Honoring the dedicated members of the hospice palliative care community

(, ON – September 1, 2011) – The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) is pleased to announce the recipients of the following 2011 awards: Balfour Mount Champion Award – Dr. Neil MacDonald

Dr. Neil MacDonald is the recipient of the 2011 Balfour Mount Champion Award in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the field of palliative care in .

Since attending McGill University and completing his post-graduate studies at McGill and Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre, Dr. MacDonald has worked tirelessly towards advancing palliative care throughout Canada. Some of Dr. MacDonald’s notable accomplishments include serving as an Associate Dean of the Faculty of Medicine at McGill (1967–1970); Director of the Alberta Cancer Program (1971–1975), Director of Edmonton’s Cross Cancer Institute (1971–1987); Director of the Division of Oncology for the University of Alberta (1975–1987); Director of the Cancer Ethics Programme within the Centre for Bioethics, Clinical Research Institute of Montreal (1994-2002); President of the Canadian Oncology Society and Vice-President of the Canadian Cancer Society; President of the Protem Board responsible for finalizing plans for the starting of the Canadian Society for Palliative Care Physicians in 1993–1994. In 1987 he was named Professor of Palliative Medicine and recipient of one of the first Canadian Chairs in the field. Dr. MacDonald has also worked on many cross border activities.

He is the Founding Director of the McGill Cancer Nutrition - Rehabilitation Program, Department of Oncology, McGill University. Dr. MacDonald’s current interests centre on research and clinical care to assist patients and families combating nutritional problems associated with advanced cancer, studies on the impact of a chronic inflammatory state on cancer symptoms, and on ethical issues in palliative care research.

Award of Excellence – Dr. Mary Lou Kelley The CHPCA was pleased to announce that the 2011 Award of Excellence in Hospice Palliative Care was presented to Mary Lou Kelley, Ph.D., M.S.W., a pioneering and dedicated Professor of Social Work at Lakehead University.

Dr. Kelley is unwavering in her quest to advance quality palliative care in rural Canada and among First Nations communities. She works tirelessly to improve end of life care across diverse settings and populations including leading applied research on how to improve palliative care in long-term care homes and among seniors.

Consistently, Dr. Kelley’s passionate contribution to quality end-of-life care, be it advocacy or knowledge translation, is making a difference at the bedside of dying . As described by one nominator, “Her leadership, commitment and achievements have pioneered new ideas and services that have significantly improved access to quality palliative care, especially for seniors and people living in rural, remote and First Nations communities in Canada.”

Annex/Annexe B • Hôpital Saint-Vincent Hospital • 60 rue Cambridge Street N. • Ottawa • Ontario • K1R 7A5 • CANADA Telephone/Téléphone : 613-241-3663 or/ou 1-800-668-2785 • Fax/Télécopieur : 613-241-3986 E-mail : [email protected] or/ou Courriel : [email protected] Web Site : http://www.chpca.net or/ou Site Web : http://www.acsp.net Charitable Registration Number/Numéro d’organisme de bienfaisance : 13760 4195 RR0001

Media Award

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) is proud to present the 2011 Media Award jointly to the Graduate Journalism Program at Western and the CBC for their series “A Good Death.” The 16-part series, written by students of the Graduate Program of Journalism at Western, investigates various aspects of hospice palliative care in Canada and how Canadians cope with death. “The topic is one that is under-reported and while we live in a culture that avoids talk of death, I felt a project where we could come at it from a number of directions, would work. I wasn't disappointed,” stated CBC Online Executive Producer Mary Sheppard. “My students have had the courage to enter the lives of many people dying or grieving,” says Faculty of Information & Media Studies lecturer, Meredith Levine. “Through this experience, they witnessed the anguish and fear of those not yet at peace with their coming end, and were graced with the transformative wisdom and beauty of people in their final days.”

The series can be found online at http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/features/a-good-death/

History of the CHPCA Awards

Each year the CHPCA recognizes outstanding individuals or organizations that promote and/or advance hospice palliative care in Canada. These awards highlight the exemplary efforts of individuals, companies and/or organizations who demonstrate a personal and/or professional commitment to hospice palliative care in Canada. All awards will be presented during the Opening Ceremony for the 2011 Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Conference, taking place Thursday September 8 th , 2011 in St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador.

The Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association (CHPCA) is the national voice for hospice palliative care in Canada. It is a bilingual, national charitable non-profit association whose mission is the pursuit of excellence in care for persons approaching death so that the burdens of suffering, loneliness and grief are lessened.

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For more information or to set up an interview, please contact :

Vanessa Sherry Communications Coordinator Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association E-mail: [email protected] Phone: 613-241-3663 ext. 229 (until September 6, and after September 12) Cellular: 613-697-0264 (September 7 to September 11)