Complementary & Alternative Therapies

Hospice Calgary respects patient autonomy and the wish to have allied health practitioners or non-prescribed medications continue to be part of care at Rosedale Hospice. 

Patients may continue to see their complementary therapists at Rosedale Hospice (e.g. massage therapist, Reiki therapist, alternative health practitioner). 

Only medical marijuana supported by a Health Canada authorization form will be allowed; Hospice Calgary staff are not able to administer any form of marijuana. 

Pain Medication

Palliative care doctors are specialists in the treatment of pain. Our experience supports that near the end of life most people do not become addicted to their pain medicine. Staff assess each patient and assure their safety before and after drugs are given. 

Pain

Pain will be addressed continuously and managed to the best of the team's ability until death. New sources of pain will be addressed as needed. For some people, pain never develops. 

Food Services

Patients will be asked by the nursing staff or the in-house chef for meal choices prior to each meal time. 

Patient meals are free of charge. There is a nominal cost for meals for families.

Baths

Bed baths are offered daily and our patients can also enjoy a luxury bath in our spa tub, as requested, with assistance by a staff member. Thanks to versatile lifting aids, we are able to safely transfer patients into and out of the bath. Warm blankets are offered post-bath and there is music and battery-operated candles available to complete the calming experience.

Nail Care

We have an optional hand and foot care nurse who can be scheduled through our nursing staff to come and cut patient nails. There is a cost for this service.

Emotional & Spiritual Support

Hospice Calgary promotes an environment where we hope to support our patients and family needs, including emotional and spiritual care. Our Spiritual Care Coordinator is based out of Rosedale Hospice, while our counsellors are based out of Sage Centre and will come to Rosedale Hospice as needed. 

Ceremonial arrangements for families while at Rosedale Hospice can be made through our Spiritual Care Coordinator, including smudging ceremonies. 

Counselling & Grief Support Services

We promise to journey with you through end of life and grief for as long as you need us. Individual counselling is available to patients and families for all ages. In addition, after the death of their person, adult family members are offered Volunteer Telephone Bereavement Support and invited to participate in our Living Through Loss bereavement group, held monthly at Sage Centre.

Contemplative Care

At Rosedale Hospice our staff practice contemplative care. Contemplative practice in palliative care involves cultivating mindfulness, emotional self-regulation, and balance in the face of suffering. We turn toward suffering, bear witness and choose wisely our responses to patients, their families and our colleagues. By honouring each phase of dying and death, as well as, those we have lost, our staff are able to be fully present at the bedside of each patient. 

On our Resources page under For Professionals & Volunteers Working in Palliative Care, links to some blessings, links to other contemplative end-of-life care sites, and a recommended reading list are provided.   

Safety Matters

Patient and family safety is of paramount importance to us.

Our building and standards of care are maintained through certification with Accreditation Canada and Continuing Care Health Service Standards, in addition to compliance with legislation pertaining to the provision of health care. 

Hospice Calgary has policies and procedures in place to ensure continuity of care and personal safety in the event of any situation (e.g. fire, infectious diseases, unexpected disruption of services).

Hospice Calgary has a process in place for managing incidents which may impact patient or visitor safety. This will include disclosure and support to patients and families.

We invite patient and family feedback both during and after the patient stay at Rosedale Hospice.

Patient Equipment

Hospice Calgary provides and maintains equipment and supplies for its patients and our equipment is maintained at high levels with patient safety and comfort paramount.

Patient use of any equipment (e.g. a wheelchair) can be arranged with a staff member, including resourcing equipment that is not readily available at Rosedale Hospice (e.g. ramps to accommodate a wheelchair on a trip home). 

Arrangement of Transportation of Patient

Arrangement of safe transportation, as required, is supported by Rosedale Hospice.

In the exceptional circumstance that a patient is transferred offsite for a medical reason, Hospice Calgary will arrange inter-facility transport (at no cost to the patient).

If the patient or family members wishes to transport a patient offsite for a social reason, Hospice Calgary staff will work with you to arrange the safest means of transportation (e.g. private vehicle, handi-bus, wheelchair accessible cab). The cost will be the responsibility of the patient/family. 

Visitor Information

Hospice Calgary recognizes that visiting with family and friends is an important factor in our patient's overall well-being. We are committed to ensuring a safe and healthy environment for our patients, clients, visitors, staff, and volunteers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic.

Our current visiting guidelines can be found here. They have been developed in accordance with the Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health.

Parking

Free visitor parking is available in the rear of the hospice and the garage is reserved for staff parking only. 

Rosedale Hospice is in a residential area and abides by strict parking regulations. When parking on the street please be aware of the one-hour city parking restrictions. 

Public Transportation

There are several bus stops within walking distance of Rosedale Hospice. To plan a trip using public transportation go to Calgary Transit's Trip Planner.

Dining Room

Our Dining Room is available for any patients or visitors to use for meetings, family gatherings or meals. We've hosted birthday parties, holiday and family dinners. Visitors are welcome to bring their own food or can arrange for our in-house chef per standard visitor meal costs to prepare dinner for the group. 

Fireside Lounge

Located on the second level, the Fireside Lounge is the most used room at Rosedale Hospice. Our staff use it as an unofficial lunch room, and anyone can join them for a meal. Visitors are welcome to bring their own food; a small kitchenette with a microwave and refrigerator is available for patients and visitors to use. 

There is a fireplace and piano also available in this room. We have volunteers who come and play piano occasionally, and as music is always appreciated throughout the house, we welcome any inclined visitors to play when it isn't being used.

Library

Our library is used most commonly when a large number of family members or visitors are seeing one patient, in order to not crowd the patient's room. There are a TV and board games available as activities to share or to help pass the time. A pull-out couch is also present for use should a visitation go late into the evening. 

Chapel

The chapel is non-denominational and is used every Thursday for a guided meditation among the staff called a 'sit'. Families and visitors have held services in the chapel, including marriage ceremonies or scripture readings. We also host musical guests or singers occasionally, where everyone in the house, patients and visitors alike, are invited to come and listen. 

The chapel is also home to a memorial wall where cards with each patient's name, date and time of death are written on a card that is then decorated by the family and placed on the wall in memory of the patient. As the memorial wall fills, the cards are moved into a binder that holds all the past memorial cards. Family members and visitors often return to Rosedale Hospice to remember their person and view their memory card while soaking in the serenity of the chapel. 

Memory Lamp Room

The memory lamp room is a small nook of Rosedale Hospice with a couch and a small patio. It is home to our memory lamp, a long-standing tradition for us. It is turned on traditionally by a family member once their person has died. The lamp stays lit for a day following the death. The patient's memorial card is also placed by the lamp before being moved to the memorial wall in the chapel. 

Next to the memory lamp, on a hand carved quilt stand, is our dignity quilt. It was designed and hand stitched by volunteers with the goal to create a dignity quilt to cover our patients during their final journey out of Rosedale Hospice. 

Comfortable chairs welcome those who wish to sit in this room of remembering. 

Coffee Room

Located on the patient floor by the elevator, with a wide view of downtown Calgary, our coffee room is a place to sit back with a cup of brewed coffee, tea, or juice, and freshly baked goods courtesy of our in-house chef. This space also has a small kitchenette with a microwave and refrigerator available, along with some comfy seating for patients and visitors to use.

Guest Room

Our guest room with a private bathroom is available for $25/night. Visitors are also welcomed to stay in the patient room at no cost. 

History of Rosedale Hospice

In 1993, then Hospice Calgary directors, Dr. Brock Dundas and Lou Winthers, were searching for a property suitable for a residential hospice. 

Philanthropists and long-time Calgarians, Murray McCann and his late wife Myrna, believed that the people in our community would benefit from having a place to ?call home? at the end-of-life, a place where they could get 24-hour specialized care and support. 

To that end, they found a former Basilian Father's residence in the neighbourhood of Rosedale, and purchased the beautiful 16,000 square foot home for Hospice Calgary to use in perpetuity. It was renovated and equipped to become Rosedale Hospice, where it received its first patient in May of 1996. 

More than twenty years later, Rosedale Hospice continues to serve end-of-life cancer patients and their families as a living legacy to the McCann family's generosity.

Hospice Calgary appreciates the support of our donors who assist us in maintaining the Rosedale Hospice facility and providing added program support. We gratefully acknowledge the support of Alberta Health Services who provide funding for the patient care at Rosedale Hospice. 

Pet Policy

Hospice Calgary promotes a patient-focused environment that recognizes the bonds people have with their pets. Pets belonging to the patient are welcome to visit for a short time in the patient's bedroom. Please ensure that they are on a leash or in a kennel when coming to the house, and go directly to the room.

Rosedale Hospice will work to reduce the risk of animal-human disease transmission during animal visitation, animal-assisted activities, and animal-therapy in accordance with Alberta Health Services and other mandated guidelines. Rosedale Hospice staff are available to ensure that the needs of both the patient and the pet are met.

Smoking Policy

Rosedale Hospice complies with Alberta Health Services? No Smoking Policy and is a smoke-free environment. We ask visitors to refrain from smoking on our property and in front of neighbouring homes. A smoking area for patients is available at the rear of the property behind the garage. Patients must be accompanied by family or friends to our smoking area.