When you or someone you care about has been diagnosed with cancer, trying to navigate the various programs, services and supports available across Muskoka can be a stressful experience in an already stressful time.
A pending program by Enliven Centre for Self-Care, called COMPASS, aims to help. It’s an online portal that will bring all of that information together in one place.
“COMPASS would aim to provide effective navigation of multiple facets of the cancer system while connecting patients, caregivers and health care providers to local resources within our catchment communities,” said Enliven board chair, Rebecca Ellerson. “We are creating COMPASS to help navigate the complexities of the cancer care system, improve holistic wellness, access caregiver supports and address the practical daily challenges of living with this disease using an online platform focused on geographically local resources. COMPASS will serve as the connector—of people to each other, to resources, and to local practitioners.”
Enliven hopes to launch COMPASS in the spring of 2019 and is well on its way to doing so thanks to a donation from a local business. Soapstones, which donates 50 per cent of every sale of its Enliven product line to the organization, recently presented a $5,000 cheque that will help with the technological back-end that drives COMPASS.
“There is nothing like (COMPASS) here,” said Enliven executive director, Allie Chisholm-Smith. “Diagnosis is so confusing and then finding resources even more so. This tool will allow people to find resources that are across the board—allopathic medicine, alternative, complimentary and mental health all in one. It is also helpful for our local practitioners so that they can get exposure and potentially build their client base.”
Chisholm-Smith wants the community to know that the organization has renewed energy, particularly with the addition of five new board members, Suzanne Riverin, Karen Patterson, Deanna Lavigne, Sharon Herrndorf and Cat Brown. “(It is) really exciting because they all have fresh energy and ideas and are really passionate about Enliven. It feels like the recharge that we needed,” she said.
Enliven will have full roster of programs in the new year to complement its existing Write it Out, Stretch it Out, and Walk it Out programs. Anyone interested in being part of Enlivens new support groups—there’s one for patients and one for caregivers—can email [email protected] to register or for more information.
For more details about Enliven Centre for Self-Care, visit enlivenmuskoka.ca.
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Hi Rob, we do have Bryan Knappett on our board and we used to have another man but he had to leave for personal reasons. We do not make decisions based on gender, only on the strengths that we were in need of — great social media skills, fundraising experience, psychotherapeutic angle and physiotherapy insights.
I appreciate the question, but i think we are quite gender neutral in our choices.
A very worthwhile venture indeed! Did anybody else notice the complete of one particular gender among the new Directors; and one assumes, within the entire Board? Just for the record, I wish to state that women, in no wise, have a monopoly on empathy.