McNally tenure ends having shown what’s possible

By Joanne McDonald

For NewsNow

Dr. Denise Marshall’s innovative sharedcare framework for providing community-based palliative care set a gold standard when it was chosen as a model to be rolled out across Canada.

“She was just getting started,” Pamela Blackwood, Execu- tive Director of McNally House Hospice told a crowd gathered Wednesday to honour Dr. Marshall’s legacy as McNally cofounder, inaugural board chair, medical director, and as a visionary and catalyst for improving end of life care.

“Denise has been the driving force behind what McNally

House has grown to become today.”

While not retiring, Dr. Marshall is ending her tenure as Medical Director and Wednesday at Peninsula Ridge Winery, her colleagues and friends did not hold back their praise.

“Thank you will never be enough for the thousands of patients whom you’ve kneeled at their bedsides or for the family members whom you’ve supported in those final days, or the number of students and learners who have been inspired to continue on in your footsteps or your colleagues whom you inspire each and every day,” Blackwood said.

A long-time profes- sor of Palliative Care in the Department of Family Medicine at McMaster University, Dr. Marshall has been a tireless educator and holds provincial and national leadership roles in palliative care.

True to her vision, McNally House is the first teaching hospice in Ontario and has provided more than 86,000 hours of training and education.

Dr. DENISE MARSHALL LIBRARY

“That is why this evening, as we stand on the cusp of the growing future for McNally House Hospice, we proudly announce the naming of a community palliative care library to be

See LIBRARY, Page 4

Gone to the dogs

Sunday’s Pet Valu Walk for Dog Guides at Grimsby Square Plaza raised $26,000 to support dog guides training (cost to raise one, $35,000). Puppy raiser Doug Pankhurst registered with Grimsby Lions Club members Jane Franks and Hilary Jackson. Donations are still being accepted at: walkfordogguides.com/fundraisers/GrimsbyWalk