Thanks to all for a successful State of the Union! For those who were unable to join us, some slide decks have been posted below. Also, the most recent copies of the TCPCN annual report and strategic plan are available on the "About Us" page (please see the left sidebar)..

Friday, May 22, 2009
8:30 am – 12:00 pm
Mount Sinai Hospital, 18th floor, Ben Sadowski Auditorium
(University Avenue Elevators)

Dear Friends, Colleagues and Partners,

The Toronto Central Palliative Care Network would like to invite you to the Network’s State of the Union Event taking place on May 22, 2009 from 8:30-12:00. The event will feature a plenary session in which the performance of the Toronto Central Hospice Palliative Care System will be discussed from a number of perspectives including hospital, community, primary care physician and long-term care. The panel is comprised of regional thought leaders who will share their views and opinions on relevant topics including integration, chronic disease management, and physician engagement in relation to hospice palliative care. The Network will also provide a State of the Union address on hospice palliative care in the Toronto Central region.

Please invite your colleagues, staff, and partners to this event.
Kindly RSVP to nyeung [at] tpcn [dot] ca on or before Tuesday, May 19th, to assist us in preparing for this event.
Do be advised that you may attend the event even if you forget to RSVP.

Come and join us and hope to see you all there!

Documents & Handouts

To download the agenda for the plenary session (in PDF format), please click here.

Handouts for the plenary speakers will be available here in the coming days. All content is the property of the presenters.
Ms. Prestwich's presentation can be downloaded in PDF (file size: 60K) or PowerPoint (file size: 1475K) formats. Content is © Catherine Prestwich.
Dr. Buchman's presentation can be downloaded in PDF (file size: 720K) format. Content is © Sandy Buchman.
Ms. Cheng's presentation can be downloaded in PDF (file size: 944K) format. Content is © Siu Mee Cheng.

Schedule of Events

8:00 – 8:30am	Registration and Breakfast Refreshments
8:30 – 10:15am	Plenary Session: “How is the Toronto Central Hospice Palliative Care System Performing – the good, the bad and the...”
10:30 – 11:30am	State of the Union Address, Dr. Larry Librach, Chair and Siu Mee Cheng, Executive Director, TCPCN
11:30am– 12:00pm	Networking

Panel Members (Updated)

Moderator	Dr. Larry Librach (Temmy Latner Centre & Mount Sinai Hospital)
Hospital Sector	Dr. Camilla Zimmermann (Princess Margaret Hospital, UHN and Toronto Central Regional Cancer Program)
Community Hospice Sector	Ms. Peggy Zammit (Hospice Toronto)
Toronto Central CCAC	Ms. Catherine Prestwich (Toronto Central Community Care Access Centre)
Primary Care Physician	Dr. Sandy Buchman (University of Toronto, Temmy Latner Centre & Cancer Care Ontario)
Patient	TBC

Panel Member Biographies

S. Lawrence Librach, MD, CCFP, FCFP

Dr. Librach's involvement in Palliative Care began in 1978. Dr. Librach now serves as the Director of The Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care at Mount Sinai Hospital. This Centre includes a Home Palliative Care Program, an Inpatient Palliative Care Consult Team, a Psychosocial-Spiritual Program, a Children’s Program and academic programs in education and research.
Dr Librach is the W. Gifford-Jones Professor in Pain Control and Palliative Care at the University of Toronto, where he also holds the position of full professor in the Department of Family and Community Medicine. He is the Director of the Division of Palliative Care in the Department of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto. Dr. Librach is also an associate in the Joint Centre for Bioethics and the Centre for Studies in Pain at the University of Toronto and the Buehler Centre for Aging at Northwestern University in Chicago. He was the physician leader of the national Educating Future Physicians for Palliative and End of Life Care Project (EFPPEC) which introduced curriculum in palliative and end of life care to Canada’s 17 medical schools. He is an education consultant to the Education in Palliative & End of Life Care (EPEC) project in the USA. He is a member of the Board and President of the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association.
Dr. Librach is the recipient of a number of awards from a number of organizations including the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association, the Ontario Palliative Care Association, the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Ontario, and the University of Toronto.
Dr. Librach’s academic interests are wide-ranging but the development and implementation of education programs is an area of special interest. He has delivered over 500 lectures and workshops.
Dr. Librach has published extensively and is the author of the Pain Manual (over 150,000 copies distributed) and co-edited a textbook, Palliative Care: Core Skills and Clinical Competencies.

Sandy Buchman, BA, MD, CCFP, FCFP

Dr. Sandy Buchman received his MD degree from McMaster University and completed his Family Medicine Residency training at the University of Toronto. He practiced comprehensive Family Medicine in Mississauga for over 21 years with special interest in Palliative Care, HIV/AIDS and International Health - including volunteer experiences in South America and Africa. He works as a full-time Palliative Care Physician with the Temmy Latner Centre for Palliative Care doing home-based care. In addition, he is the Regional Primary Care Lead in Toronto Central LHIN for Cancer Care Ontario. He currently serves as the Past-Past President of the Ontario College of Family Physicians and is an Assistant Professor in the Departments of Family and Community Medicine at the University of Toronto and McMaster University.

Ms. Catherine Prestwich, RN, BSc.N, CHPCN(c)

Catherine Prestwich has worked for the past 10 years as a Palliative Care Consultant with the Toronto Central CCAC. She was instrumental in the development and implementation of the innovative HPCNet program – a program which pioneered the interdisciplinary approach to community palliative care and has served as a template provincially and nationally.
Catherine is a recognized leader in palliative care at the CCAC and works with Care Coordinators daily to enhance their knowledge of palliative care services in the community through mentoring and support. She has been involved in formal and informal palliative education for care coordinators, service providers, and community agencies, and in the development of the Record of Care (in home chart).
Catherine received a degree in nursing from Queen’s University and a certificate in palliative care from the Canadian Nurse Association.

Dr. Camilla Zimmermann, MD

Dr. Zimmermann is the Palliative Care Regional Clinical Co-Lead in the Toronto Central Regional Cancer Program for Cancer Care Ontario. Dr. Zimmermann trained in internal medicine and has worked in palliative care since 1998. She is Head of the Palliative Care Program at the University Health Network and an Assistant Professor at the University of Toronto. She is also a Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute and has ongoing studies in palliative care funded by the Canadian Cancer Society and the Canadian Institutes for Health Research.

Ms. Peggy Zammit

Ms. Zammit is the Client Services Coordinator for Hospice Toronto.