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The Waterloo Wellington Dufferin Hospice Palliative Care (WWD-HPC) Network is pleased to announce its participation in the Provincial Palliative Care Integration Project (PPCIP). The PPCIP is a joint venture between Cancer Care Ontario (CCO) and the Ministry of Heath Performance Initiatives Fund. WWD-HPC will be one of 12 sites across the province participating in the project.

The PPCIP is a continuous quality improvement project for the delivery of integrated palliative care in Ontario, with a rigorous performance measurement and evaluation component. It involves the introduction of:

• Standardized symptom screening and assessment tools (i.e., Edmonton Symptom Assessment Scale [ESAS] and Palliative Performance Scale [PPS]). The project budget has an allowance for five sites to implement assessment tools in electronic form; the other sites will implement paper-based processes.

• Evidence-based Collaborative Care Plans (CCP) for palliative care.

• Symptom management guidelines.

Each region will have at minimum 12-month period in which the proposed care processes are implemented and subject to a continuous improvement process. Over the next few months, the project design and preparation for the regional roll outs will be finalized.

The project will be coordinated and supported centrally, but will allow each region to tailor the implementation to unique local circumstances. Each region will be creating a Regional Steering Committee for the project that includes the following representatives:

• Regional Vice President (or designate)

• CCAC Executive Director (or designate)

• Hospice Palliative Care Network representative

• Palliative Care Physician

• Clinical Director from GRRCC

• Regional Improvement Coordinator

The Project partners are Grand River Regional Cancer Centre, Waterloo Wellington Community Care Access Centre and their service providers, Palliative Care Physicians and Cambridge Memorial Hospital. Over time, it is intended to implement the project to other sites through the area.

This committee will be responsible to support and guide the work during the regional implementation and needs to have an understanding of the project goals and objectives. A key success factor for this project will be central support and coordination to ensure that each region has the support and guidance it needs to successfully change the delivery of palliative care. Therefore, we are proposing the following structure:

• A central project leadership team will provide direction to the regional teams and coordinate the efforts of all regions.

• Expert advisors have been identified to assist with the planning of the quality improvement approach, the development and dissemination of educational materials, the evaluation methodology and the design (and possibly implementation) of an appropriate information technology platform.

• Members of the project team that have already implemented a Palliative Care Integration Project in the Southeast Region (the Kingston Coaches) are making themselves available for consultation and assistance as required.

The project includes funds to cover some of the key expenses for this project. The project budget includes funds for the following expenses:

• Each region will be provided funds for the hiring of a Regional Improvement Coordinator.

• Five regions will be provided funds to cover the cost of purchasing computer hardware to collect screening and assessment data electronically

• These same five regions will be provided funds to support infrastructure for the IT investment. (e.g., connectivity and installation charges, provincial IT support).

The PPCIP will assist patients, families and service providers in achieving a common language and a consistent approach to treatment planning using the tools provided through the project. The project aims to promote efficient, high quality palliative/end-of-life care to patients and their families through dissemination and utilization of evidence-based practices and through collaboration and service integration across the continuum of care.

If you require further information, please contact:

Andrea Martin, Chair of the WWD PPCIP Regional Steering Committee
at 519-823-2550 ext. 2302 or via email at
Andrea.Martin@ww.ccac-ont.ca or
Megan McCullough Regional Improvement Coordinator
at megan.mccullough@grhosp.on.ca .