The Belize Hospice Palliative Care Foundation is proud to support holistic care to hundreds of patients with life threatening diseases across Belize. Established since 2006, the foundation has served countless patients and caregivers free of cost through a network of volunteer physicians, nurses and non-medical personnel through home visits. We are committed to continue advocating on behalf of the many patients who are still in need of palliative care services and to partner with the different stakeholders in promoting and ensuring palliative care for all.
To serve as a national example on affirming and enriching life, providing quality community relations, and recognizing the unique needs of others as an extension of the ministry of God.
To operate a palliative care program for the country of Belize that will make physical, psychosocial and spiritual care available to those who have been affected by or diagnosed by a life limiting illness, ensuring integrity and quality of life as sustained by God.
The patient and their families are considered the unit of care. The needs of the individual members of the unit of care need to be identified and addressed individually with compassion.
The first time that Dr. Beatriz Thompson realized the need for quality care of cancer patients was in 2005. While in Mexico for educational purposes, Dr. Thompson found herself working in the cancer ward of a hospital helping patients manage the pain they were experiencing. During this time, she began to think about her home country and evaluate end of life care services and resources available to Belizeans. At that time, the people in Belize did not have anyone available to help them in managing their pain or caring for them during end of life. Having seen the suffering involved during end of life and compelled by this situation, Dr. Thompson returned to Belize.
Upon her return, she was introduced to the Cancer Society where she met her first patient, a 38-year-old woman with cervical cancer. The cancer had spread to the woman’s spinal column which caused her great pain and rendered her unable to walk. At the time, there was no oral morphine available, so Dr. Thompson gave her injections of morphine. Throughout the process, Dr. Thompson helped educate the patient’s mother on her daughter’s illness and treatment. In addition, she taught the woman’s mother to give injections to her daughter. Sadly, the woman passed away. The family brought in a priest and other family members to be with the woman as she died. This was Dr. Thompson’s first experience with end-of-life care.
The cancer center began to call Dr. Thompson to help with an increasing number of patients who were experiencing difficulty during end of life. As the demand for care increased, she began to discuss with her mother the need to provide for these patients. As Dr. Thompson’s patient base grew into the south side of Belize City, she enlisted her mother, sisters, and church friends to go with her to see patients. This group formed Dr. Thompson’s first volunteer group. They began to visit patients, sing, and read the Bible to them. Dr. Thompson and eight volunteers divided the patients among themselves so that each patient could get the care they needed. In addition, they also assisted in helping to solicit donations for oxygen tanks and nebulizers for the patients.
The Belize Palliative Care Association currently has twenty volunteers, five physicians, and forty patients. Dr. Thompson and her team would like to impact end of life care in Belize by providing quality care for Belizeans as the BPCA continues to grow.
The Belize Palliative Care Hospice Association faces a handful of challenges in starting the program. The first obstacle is finding a facility or office for the BPCHA from which they can operate. While future plans have been made to build an office, the current need for workspace is a priority. Another challenge is availability of resources. Palliative Care requires certain resources on a continual basis such as medical equipment and supplies. Without these materials, consistency of care could become a concern. Education for the caregivers/family and patient is paramount to the success of this program. Lack of documentation is another challenge to overcome. BPCHA is working on developing and implementing a documentation system to alleviate this issue. As BPCHA continues to grow, the greatest possible challenge may be meeting the staffing needs of the organization. The staff will include clinical cores, administrative, chaplain, social worker, nurse, physician, and volunteer positions.
Despite facing the challenges of program development, the BPCHA has already achieved many successes impacting the Belizean General Society, the Health Care System through Ministry of Health providing educational trainings. The association was established in October 2008.
Palliative Care is the active care of patients with advanced, progressive, and incurable disease. Depending on the country, the meaning of palliative varies from a philosophy of care to the type of setting where the care is provided. The World Health Organization’s definition of palliative care is an approach that improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness, through the prevention and relief of suffering by means of early identification and impeccable assessment and treatment of pain and other problems, physical, psychosocial and spiritual (http://www.hospicecare.com/Organisation/). Hundreds of years ago, during the Crusades of the Middle Ages, we know that palliative care/hospices were often found in monasteries, established not only for the sick and dying, but also for the hungry wayfarer, the woman in labor, the needy poor, the orphan, and the leper. The goal was hospitality in its true sense: protection, refreshment, and fellowship, rather than the demand for a cure. The word “palliative” comes from the Latin word meaning “to cover or cloak”. Ars Morendi – Art of living and dying (https://sacredartofliving.org/. Palliative care provides relief from pain and other distressing symptoms; affirms life and regards dying as a normal process; intends to neither hasten nor postpone death; integrates the psychological and spiritual aspects of patient care; offers a support system to help patients live as actively as possible until death; offers a support system to help the family cope during the patient’s illness and in their own bereavement; uses a team approach to address the needs of patients and their families, including bereavement counseling, if indicated; will enhance quality of life, and may also positively influence the course of illness; is applicable early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other therapies that are intended to prolong life, such as chemotherapy or radiation therapy, and includes those investigations needed to better understand and manage distressing clinical complications.
Founder, Ex-officio
Chairman
Vice Chairman
Secretary
Treasure Officer
Executive Director
Officer
Fundraising Officer
Volunteers Coordinator Officer
Policy Developer Officer
Pharmacist & Medical Equipment Industry Officer
