Dr. Ohunene Audu
Physician Consultant, WRHA Palliative Care Program
Family Physician, Access Winnipeg West, WRHA
Lecturer, Section of Palliative Care, Department of Family Medicine, Max Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
Sarah-Jane Beaudry
Sarah-Jane Beaudry is a Clinical Nurse Specialist with the WRHA Palliative Care Program. Her motivation to enter nursing stemmed from a lived experience of caring for a loved one at end of life, and it is through that lens that she provides dedicated care for patients and their families. Originally from the East Coast, Sarah-Jane now lives, works, and enjoys the sunshine in Manitoba on Treaty 1 territory and the homeland of the Metis Nation with her husband and their three children.
Stepan Bilynskyy
Stepan is committed to a life-long career in healthcare. He works at Grace Health Campus as a Spiritual Health Practitioner and a Clinical Educator at U of M. Stepan is a spiritual director, blog writer, author, co-author, and signatory of several published works and presentations.
Shelly Cory
Shelly Cory has been Executive Director of the Canadian Virtual Hospice (CVH) for 19 years and in April 2020 she founded the Canadian Grief Alliance, engaging 160 national and regional organizations to make grief a priority. Under her leadership, CVH has grown into the world’s most comprehensive online resource on palliative care, loss and grief. She and her team have won 7 national and international awards for their innovation and teamwork.
Dr. Bernard Cox
Physician Consultant, WRHA Palliative Care Program
Family Physician, Access Fort Gary, WRHA
Lecturer, Section of Palliative Care, Department of Family Medicine, Max Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba
Dr. Paul Daeninck
Dr. Paul Daeninck is a palliative medicine consultant, researcher and educator with the WRHA Palliative Care Program. He is the Chair of the Symptom Management and Palliative Care Disease Site at CancerCare Manitoba and is an Assistant Professor at the Max Rady College of Medicine, University of Manitoba. Dr. Daeninck has served with the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons, the Canadian Society of Palliative Medicine, and the Canadian Consortium for the Investigation of Cannabinoids.
Yvonne Heath
In 27 years of nursing, Yvonne worked in many areas including emergency, chemotherapy, palliative care and hospice. She became disheartened by our society’s reluctance to prepare for grief, transitions and end of life—causing excessive suffering. She suffered too, not knowing how to do it differently. In 2015, she blazed a new trail and founded Love Your Life to Death. As an author, speaker and trainer, she shares her message with heart and humour. She is most passionate about Supporting the Supporters and Creating Compassionate Communities.
Dr. Anne Huot
Dr. Anne Huot is proud to be part of the WRHA Palliative Care program since August 2024. Originally from Quebec City, she completed her medical training and worked for 10 years in Montreal before moving to Edmonton in 2006 and doing a fellowship in Palliative Medicine in 2010. Since then she has been working full time in Palliative care, involved in clinical practice, teaching and administrative roles. When not spending her time practicing medicine, she enjoys discovering Manitoba with her husband or travelling to visit her 3 children living in northeastern Canada and US.
Melanie Kampen
Melanie Kampen works as a Spiritual Health Practitioner at Middlechurch Home of Winnipeg. She holds a PhD in Theology from the University of Toronto (2019). Dr. Kampen uses her expertise at the intersections of theology, ethics, and trauma theory to develop spiritual health programs and practices that are person-centered to promote well-being and connection between residents, family and friends, and community partners.
Alana Kaplan
Alana Kaplan is a psychosocial support specialist with the WRHA Palliative Care Program. Alana graduated from the University of Toronto in 2014 with her Masters of Social Work. Her first decade of her career was spent working in children’s mental health. She’s participated in multiple trainings including Emotion Focused Family Therapy, DBT Skills for Adolescents and Grief Therapy for children. Alana transitioned into palliative care after her own lived experience and growing passion for working with folks who are reaching the end of their life.
Gaetane Lafond
Gaetane received her Master’s in Social Work from the University of Manitoba in 2016, completing her final practicum at Palliative Manitoba, focusing on the palliative volunteers. Gaetane has been working as a psychosocial specialist for the WRHA Palliative Care Program for 6 years and prior to this worked as a social worker on the palliative care unit at St. Boniface Hospital for 2 years. Gaetane provides emotional support to patients and families impacted by terminal illness, both throughout the dying process and in grief.
Elder Albert McLeod
Albert McLeod is a status Indian with ancestry from Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation and the Métis community of Norway House. A well-respected knowledge keeper, he has worked tirelessly for the rights of Two-Spirit (2S), lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, and queer (2LGBTQ+) people locally and across the continent. Albert holds an honorary Law Doctorate from the University of Manitoba. He lives in Winnipeg, where he works as a consultant specializing in Indigenous peoples, cultural reclamation, and cross-cultural training.
Amanda Montefusco
Amanda is the Manager Health Services for Grace Hospice. She has worked in a leadership role within palliative care for the past three years; starting in the community in the IERHA with the regional Palliative Care program, and now at Grace Hospice. Amanda is a registered social worker with past clinical experience in mental health and addictions, trauma informed care, psychosocial rehabilitation and long term acquired brain injury rehabilitation.
Janice Nesbitt
Janice Nesbitt is the Clinical Operations Lead for the WRHA Palliative Care Program. She has previously worked as a Clinical Nurse Specialist with the Program and is currently the project lead for the WRHA Grant project with Health Care Excellence Canada on Increasing equitable access to palliative care for person who are unhoused or precariously housed.
Shannon Reimer
PENDING
Brigitte Rémillard
Brigitte has spent almost her whole career, 36 years, working in Palliative Care, initially working as a generalist nurse on the Palliative Care Unit at St. Boniface Hospital. After 20 years, she took on the role of the Clinical Resource Nurse for 5 years. In 2013, she shifted her focus to the rural southern communities in Manitoba, an area in which she grew up. Brigitte served as the Palliative Care Coordinator/Educator for 5 years and currently the manages the Southern Health – Santé Sud Palliative Care program. She is a grandmother to a 2-year-old girl and a 1-year-old boy, likes to do word puzzles and enjoys a bit of sewing.
Rami Shami
Rami Shami has been serving within Hospice Palliative Care for over three decades. He feels privileged to practice as a Consultant in Hospice Palliative Care, as well as Case Manager for the Second Mile Club at Kensington Health, and the Community Relations Advisor for Lighthouse for Grieving Children. While harvesting a conviction that everyone should have access to quality Hospice Palliative Care, Rami strongly advocates and supports the development and growth of programs and services for those traveling the journey of a life-limiting illness, their caregivers, and those who are bereaved.
Dr. Ashleigh Sprange
Dr. Sprange is a palliative physician with the WRHA Palliative Care Program and CancerCare Manitoba’s Pain and Symptom Clinic. She is also an attending physician and Medical Director at St. Amant Centre and the attending physician at Brummitt Feasby ALS House. She completed medical school and a family medicine residency at the University of Manitoba. She then completed a fellowship in Palliative Medicine at the University of Alberta. Her main area of interest is exploring peoples’ understanding of goals of care and advanced care planning, and normalizing conversations about illness, death, and dying to improve overall patient care.
Jessica Stefanik
Jessica (she/they) is a queer, Two Spirit, Red River Metis person- a first-generation university graduate and recent earner of their Bachelor in Social Work with a Focus on Aging. Historically, they have been involved in various community organizations, including a long-standing board position, a community advisory team, and various councils. With a background in policy, in addition to being a research assistant focused on anti-racism in school social work, and a support worker and foster parent to queer youth- their work and practice centers on empowerment, community, and `resilience’.
Dr. Jeanna Strutinsky-Mason
Jeanna is a home-grown medical graduate who completed her postgraduate medical training in England where she resided for 19 years. Before returning to Winnipeg, she was a Consultant in Palliative Medicine at John Eastwood Hospice and was the Clinical Lead for Hospital Palliative Care, Clinical Governance, Patients with Severe Multiple Deprivation, and Education Co-Lead. She is re-acclimating to life in Canada and wishes to share different practices with colleagues on both sides of “the pond”.
Kelly Tye
Kelly Tye Vallis is a registered speech-language pathologist. Kelly has worked in the WRHA- Long-Term Care Program for over 20 years. She also works in private practice in assisted living and long-term care sites in Manitoba. Kelly has spent her career focused on walking client’s and families through the end-of-life experience.
Dr. Michael Yellow Bird
Michael Yellow Bird, PhD, is Professor and former Dean of the Faculty of Social Work at the University of Manitoba. His research focuses on decolonization, healthy aging, mindfulness, and the cultural significance of Rez dogs. He is the author of several social work and Indigenous studies articles, the co-editor of four books, and the co-author of two books. He serves on the boards of several organizations dedicated to mindfulness and compassion.
