About
Canuck Place Children’s Hospice is British Columbia and the Yukon’s pediatric palliative care program. Over 920 children living with life-threatening illnesses and families from five provincial health regions receive Canuck Place inpatient and community-based care (in home/in hospital).
Canuck Place operates 10 patient beds and 8 family suites through two hospices in Vancouver and Abbotsford. Services include in-hospice medical respite and family support, pain and symptom management, provincial 24-Hour Clinical Care Line, music and recreation therapy, education and art, grief, loss, and bereavement counselling, as well as end-of-life care.
With donors, research initiatives, our talented team, patient family partners, and over 330 volunteers, we care for children with short lives and the families who love them.
Since 2018, Canuck Place has seen a 57% increase in community care consults, resulting in more children with complex medical conditions and their families being cared for in their home communities.
Our Impact
Canuck Place offers choice for place of care for children and families. Family and clinician experience, the changing nature of health care, and a shared hope of having more care close to home informed the development of our Enhanced Community Care (in-home) program and the increase in virtual care across all our clinical services.
By offering more choices for place of care, we recognize the unique needs of families, and their lives – whether those lives are measured in hours, days, weeks or years. These choices include care in-hospital, in-home, and virtual care in addition to care in two hospices providing 10 patient beds and 8 family suites.
Our impact is global. We have a mandate to share knowledge for the benefit of seriously- ill children everywhere. In 2022 we partnered with Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration to support clinicians and their knowledge in pediatric palliative care in countries where 80% of young people with a serious illness or cancer will die. Canuck Place is a global hub for start-up pediatric hospices and pediatric palliative care clinicians around the world who come to Vancouver to learn and model pediatric palliative care in BC.
