COVID-19: Important information for our families

During this challenging time, we want to assure you that Canuck Place continues to deliver critical care for children and families. Our entire team is working hard to ensure that children and families who need our expert pediatric palliative care continue to receive it whether in hospice, in hospital or at home.

In an effort to respond to the changes in our world, and our commitment to providing excellent care to children and families, we have some new safety practices in effect at our hospices.

This includes:
  • Everyone (children, families, staff, volunteers, visitors) who enters the hospices must have a health screen. For children and families, a staff member will call you at home the day before your admission and ask you a series of questions. When your child is staying in hospice, your nurse will check your child every shift for any symptoms, and if you are staying in house, or coming in to see your child, we will also ask you screening questions every day. We ask everyone with any cold or flu-like symptoms (even mild ones) to not come to the hospice. The symptoms we look for are as outlined by Public Health, and described on the BC COVID-19 self-assessment tool
  • We are practicing physical distancing (keeping 2 metres apart) as much as possible. Signs are posted around the hospice as a reminder
  • We ask everyone in our hospices to wash their hands frequently
  • Masks are required. As a health care facility, the Ministry of Health now requires that most everyone wear a medical mask when in a shared or common area. We will provide the mask upon entry. Children admitted for care do not need to wear a mask. You do not have to mask when in your family suite, your child’s room or in the dining room while eating.
  • We have reduced numbers of people within the hospices:
  • At our Vancouver hospice, we are able to accommodate fewer children and families at a time, in order to minimize shared spaces.
  • For respite stays with a family suite, we encourage only one parent/caregiver to stay when possible. Please be aware that we are not able to accommodate siblings in the hospice for respite admissions. For children admitted for advanced symptom management or end-of-life care, it may be possible to have siblings present. In those cases, the clinical nursing manager will follow up directly with the family regarding our policies and procedures.
  • We cannot have extended family, friend or other visitors into the hospice
  • Many of our staff are working remotely when possible, and there are limited volunteers on-site

With these safety practices in place, we continue to be able to provide respite, symptom management and end-of-care.

We are embracing the opportunities offered by virtual care, including for clinical support, education, counselling, and bereavement. Our 24/7 clinical care line is always here for children and families, and health care providers.

We acknowledge, that for many these are challenging times and the added restrictions and uncertainty is hard. Our hope is to do all we can to continue to care for your child and family.

If you are worried about COVID-19 or would like more information please have a look at these resources:

Important information for our donors and supporters

Generous donations from donors like you support the ongoing clinical care for children and families from across BC and Yukon.

Our non-clinical teams are taking proactive steps to ensure the safety of our community. All of our volunteer shifts have been suspended, and teams like finance, human resources, communications, and fundraising, will work remotely to ensure the safety of our medical staff, community, and especially the children and families in our care.

Thank you for your patience as we enter a new way of working remotely; please be patient with our timeliness in responding to your important voice messages and gift receipts. We are working hard to maintain the levels of service and responsiveness we always promise.

Canuck Place Virtual Office
Our Granville Office is closed to the public with only essential staff working in shifts; however, we are here to support your needs.

  • If you know the direct line or email of the individual you’re trying to reach, please contact them directly, we are online and accessing voice mail regularly.
  • You can call us at 604.731.4847 during regular business hours and your call will be directed. If you don’t know the email address of your Canuck Place contact, we can provide it when you call.
  • Please email us at info@canuckplace.org and your message will similarly be re-directed for prompt reply.
Your health matters to us. Here are links to key & timely information regarding COVID-19.

Our Medical Director, Dr. Hal Siden, is working with colleagues across the health care system to regularly review and update resources. Here are the direct links to updates to the BC Centre for Disease Control and from Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) and Ministry of Health:

thank you for buildig courage in our families

Because of you and your loyal support Canuck Place will be here for children and families today and in the difficult times ahead. We are thinking of you and your families and wishing you resilience through this unprecedented time.

With gratitude,
Denise Praill, Chief Executive Officer, Canuck Place Children’s Hospice​