Death and Dying Resources
Cariboo Death Resources
Death and Dying Resources for Williams Lake, the Central Cariboo and BC Interior
RESOURCES for Advance Care Planning in British Columbia
Information and Links
Because it's always too soon until it's too late.
If it feels a bit daunting to tackle your Advance Care Planning, there's help available!
Contact nicola@deathtalk.ca
We can set up a Zoom call and get the process started, and finished!!
It doesn't have to be complicated and it can even be fun.
One thing's for sure, it feels really good to get it done.
There are many practical questions to consider; there are the 'what if's of a protracted illness, accident, or sudden death, there are legal requirements, deathbed wishes, family dynamics, and decisions about ceremonies and rituals. Don't panic. There's help to figure it all out, and there is no time like the present.
www.advancecareplanning.ca Excellent national and provincial resources
Advance Care Plan to fill in and download From Dying with Dignity Canada
MY VOICE Advance Care Planning BC Workbook Online
Patient Pathways ~
Excellent Resources http://patientpathways.ca/plan-ahead/in-case-of-emergency/
The ICE form is one of the resources on their website.
MOST The MOST form stands for "Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment" (to be completed with and signed by your health care provider) Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment encompasses six designations that provide direction on Resuscitation Status (code status); Critical Care Interventions; and, Medical Interventions. The orders are determined by the Most Responsible Physician (MRP).
Another link for MOST information, from Island Health, BC.
Capable patients may request that no cardiopulmonary resuscitation be started on their behalf. This should be done after discussions with their doctor or nurse practitioner. “No cardiopulmonary resuscitation” is defined as no cardiopulmonary resuscitation (no CPR) in the event of respiratory and/or cardiac arrest.
Cariboo Community Deathcaring Network ACP Resource List
Local
Angela Gutzer
Email / 250 267 4636 / CCDC Network
- Death Doula Services
- Founding member of Cariboo Community Deathcaring Network
- Pet Palliative and End-of-Life Care Veterinarian White Feather Mobile Veterinarian
Nicola Finch
Email / Website / Facebook 778 765 1552
- Death Literacy and Education, Advocacy, Natural Burial, and Death Doula Services
- Working to bring Natural Burial and Stone Barrows for Ashes to the BC Interior.
- Founding member of Cariboo Community Deathcaring Network
The following businesses, services, and resources are listed as public services. Information under each listing was taken from their own websites as of April 24th, 2018.
Cariboo-Chilcotin Funeral Service, Williams Lake
Email / Facebook / Website 1-844-392-3234
- Cariboo-Chilcotin Funeral Service serves Bella Coola, Williams Lake, Quesnel, and all communities in between.
- Location 180 Comer Street, Williams Lake, BC V2G-1T6
- Licensed Funeral Director and Manager: Angela Waterson
- Funeral Director / Embalmer: Philip Teichroeb
Five Rivers Crematorium, Williams Lake
Email / Website / 250-392-3234
- “We will endeavor to honor the persons whose final disposition we are entrusted to oversee with integrity, dignity, and respect, without prejudice."
- Provider: Iouri Ehnadernaine
- Location: 455 2nd. Ave North, Williams Lake B.C. V2G-1N3
- The City of Williams Lake currently has one public Cemetery located at 455 Second Avenue North. There is also one grave designated as cemetery land located at 850 Mackenzie Avenue, which is the William Pinchbeck Grave.
- Current interment options include traditional burials for both full casket and cremated remains. Arrangements for interment into the cemetery can be made through a funeral director or directly through the Planning Clerk at City Hall. The City of Williams Lake allows people to pre-purchase plots as per the Williams Lake Cemetery Bylaw, through the Planning Clerk.
- Plot information, cemetery fees, or bylaw regulations are available from the Planning Clerk during the hours of 8:30 am to 4:30 pm Monday to Friday (except statutory holidays)
Overview of Local Health Services from the
Williams Lake and District Chamber of Commerce Website
- "Williams Lake is the health care center for the South Cariboo and Chilcotin region serving a regional population of over 53,000 people. At the Cariboo Memorial Hospital in Williams Lake, there are 31 beds and there are 26 active physicians. This is a Level 2 hospital, offering outpatient hemodialysis and chemotherapy. Permanent and visiting specialists provide services on internal medicine, cardiology, ophthalmology, psychiatry, and dermatology. All physicians have access to a pool of locums, who are available to provide vacation relief. In addition, Cariboo Memorial Hospital provides the following services: medical, surgical, obstetrical & gynecological, pediatric, internal medicine, and mammography diagnostic services. The hospital offers 24-hour emergency room coverage. Williams Lake offers Community Health Services, which include nutrition counseling, speech and hearing services, and a travel clinic. Palliative Care and Home Support services are available here too.
(Hospice palliative care is a philosophy of care and services which help relieve suffering and improve the quality of life for people with a life-limiting illness. Hospice palliative care does not hasten or delay death. Hospice palliative care is about access to the best possible quality of life at the end of life.)
- For seniors, Williams Lake has a Seniors Activity Centre and three residences. Sunset Manor, which also accommodates people with disabilities, has 50 independent-living apartment units and Glen Arbor is a 34-unit independent-living complex. Retirement Concepts runs Williams Lake Seniors Village and Williams Lake Seniors Assisted Living Village and provides two types of living accommodations for seniors. There are independent assisted living suites for residents who wish to maintain their independence while knowing assistance is available when they need it. The suites are ideal for couples as well as singles. Williams Lake Seniors Assisted Living Village has 21 publicly subsidized assisted living units. In total, there are 113 residential care rooms, 101 assisted living suites, and 17 independent living suites here."
Williams Lake Hospice Society Website
- A community-based non-profit volunteer society that provides quality compassionate care for the dying and support for their families and friends.
- Office location: 530 – 4th Avenue North, Williams Lake
- Telephone: (250) 392-5430
Quesnel and District Hospice and Palliative Care Association
- QDHPCA is a volunteer organization that seeks to ensure that all individuals and their families receive quality care when faced with life-threatening illnesses, end-of-life care, and bereavement support.
- Whether you are looking for information on upcoming events or the Quesnel Hospice Unit; searching for current news & articles on palliative care; are in need of a Palliative Care Volunteer to help or would like to talk to someone about the grieving process, we are here to answer any questions or concerns you may have. No referrals are required and our services are free to anyone that needs them. Our focus is on individual needs.
Interior BC and Provincial
Consumer Protection BC /
- The government agency responsible for regulating BC's Cremation and Funeral Services. Reliable and user-friendly information here, such as
- "Steps to take following a death."
- Or "How to privately transfer your loved one following a death".
Death Doula Network International
- A passionate membership community committed to connection, support & education for ANYONE interested in Death positivity.
Family Caregivers of BC
- Resources for End of Life / Death and Dying (Interior Health Area)
Canadian Virtual Hospice
- Information and Support on Advanced Illness, Palliative, and End of Life Care, loss, and grief.
Green Burial Society of Canada
- "This society, through education, advocacy, and a certification program, was established to help all Canadians understand and recognize the environmental benefits of green burial."
National Home Funeral Alliance
- A US Non-Profit that provides excellent information supporting home funeral education. Their mission is to empower friends and families to care for their loved ones after death. Check out this page of resources For Families and Friends, knowing that rules and regulations in BC can be different, though it is a legal option here in BC to care for a loved one at home after death.
Interested in Natural Burial?
- Excellent full-length documentary film. One man’s passionate wish for a legacy of green burials inspires a profoundly affecting and optimistic portrait of people finding meaning in death.
- from People's Law School is for people in British Columbia who want to know what to do when a loved one dies. It covers preparing for the death of a loved one, what to do immediately after the death, making the funeral arrangements, and where to find support.
- is a Canadian-based organization, which respects the wisdom of ancient death traditions and encourages the renewal of older death practices that are appropriate to our modern-day life. In the past, communities cared for their own dying folk; and creatively adapted, that approach to death is still an option available to us. CINDEA 's perspective is one of a wide range of initiatives that are drawing our culture into a deeper relationship with nature and the cycles of life and death — the modern version of "a good death" for all involved in it.
- supports you to approach your end of life planning as a robust and meaningful expression of who you are. Co-founders Reena Lazar and Michelle Pante offer coaching, workshops and in time, self-study tools. Reena and Michelle are based out of Vancouver. They are super approachable and kind, and offer excellent programs and resources; in-person and online.
- A grass-roots funeral business, serving you from Vancouver and the North Shore. Emily Bootle and Ngaio Davis; the founder of KORU "provide simple and tailored cremation, burial and ceremony services that help you care for, remember, mourn and celebrate your dead. KORU is a leader, innovator, and educator in what we see as a new age of death, dying, and end-of-life care. Ngaio and Emily have a keen interest in raising awareness about local sustainably sourced and community-minded products and practices." There is a wealth of information on their website.
LGBT End-of-Life Conversations
- Simon Fraser University Gerontology Research Center
The Memorial Society of British Columbia
- The only member-based, volunteer-driven memorial society in British Columbia. The Memorial Society provides an excellent list of resources specific to British Columbia.
- A Canadian Community of Practice, building a participatory organization to support and promote community deathcare in Canada.
End of Life Doula Association of Canada
- Providing personalized End of Life Care, advocacy, training, community awareness, and support.
Death Cafe
- At a Death Cafe people talk about death over tea and cake. Death Cafes happen in 40+ counties. Find your nearest here: http://deathcafe.com/deathcafes/.
Our objective is "To increase the awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their (finite) lives." Part of this is holding regular pop-up Death Cafes, where strangers meet to discuss death and eat delicious food.
Over 5,300 pop-up Death Cafes have taken place in 52+ countries.- Our local Cariboo Community Deathcaring Network holds monthly Death Cafes. You'll find us on Facebook @CCDCNetwork
© 2023 Contact us at info@ccdcnetwork.com