The County of Renfrew recently created a new policy to approve Medically Assisted in Dying (MAID) procedures.
Shelley Sheedy, director of long term care for the Bonnechere Manor and Miramichi Lodge says that like many long term care homes in many areas, The County of Renfrew didn’t have any policies in place and this makes it clear.
She says that they are not suggesting MAID as a treatment but they want their staff and residents to be informed about it.
She also says that many of their residents wouldn’t be eligible for the treatment of MAID due to its rigorous process of eligibility. She says, you need to be able to make the decision for yourself (which excludes many of their residents who have dementia), you must be referred to MAID by two different physicians, and must be able to give the final consent before MAID is carried out.
Sheedy told us that there hasn’t been much feedback about MAID from the residents but she says they, along with staff, do appreciate that they took the steps to creating the policy, now that MAID is legal.