The Mount Pleasant Group Hospice Innovation Award, established in 2019, recognizes innovative solutions, approaches, and care delivery by community-based hospices throughout Ontario. This year’s nominations were received and adjudicated by an expert panel and a representative from Mount Pleasant Group.
2025 Award
Abigail Brown, Director of Marketing, Communications and Outreach, Mount Pleasant Group; Kyla Lance, Music Therapist; Jennifer Morritt, Manager, Margaret’s Place Hospice; Rick Firth, President and CEO of HPCO.
The recipient of the 2025 Mount Pleasant Group Hospice Innovation Award is Margaret’s Place Hospice.
To find ways to offer unique and lasting experiences to their clients and to expand their scope of grief and bereavement services, Margaret’s Place hospice created the “Hospice Heartbeats” program. A music therapy core stethoscope legacy recording project.
By recording residents’ heartbeats using an ECG, they were able to offer loved ones the opportunity to take those recordings and create unique keepsakes like framed artwork, songs, or tattoos.
“Margaret’s Place Hospice’s winning nomination, Hospice Heartbeats, is a deeply moving project that exemplifies the kind of innovation we wish to support and encourage for the sensitive care of people and families confronting dying, death and grief,” said Abigail Brown, Director of Marketing, Communications and Outreach with Mount Pleasant Group. “We believe Hospice Heartbeats will provide much needed warmth, comfort and lasting memories for the dying and those who love them alike and we are honoured to support this incredible initiative.”
The Hospice Heartbeats program began during Kyla Lance’s internship as a music therapist at Connecting in Rhythm, where she first encountered the concept of recording heartbeats. But it wasn’t until she began working in hospice care that she understood the full emotional weight of legacy work.
“The people who come to hospice are so open for us to tend to their bodies and physical concerns, but they are often less ready for us to tend to their heart, souls and minds,” said Jennifer. “We’re not a society that wants to talk about emotions. When Kyla can use the stethoscope, she can make that bridge to address the things that are harder to see. The heartbeat project has been so huge with that.”
Not only did they notice a measurable improvement in the psychosocial, spiritual, cultural, and emotional experiences of their clients, but also saw an improvement in volunteer retention and engagement. This initiative is highly adaptable and sustainable, and highlights the innovative approaches to care that hospice is known for.
Jennifer Morritt, Manager of Margaret’s Place Hospice and St. Joseph’s Villa, and Kyla Lance, Music Therapist were presented with the award at our Awards Gala on June 9, 2025, which occurred during our Annual Conference.
2024 Award
John Monahan, President and CEO, Mount Pleasant Group, Dr. Naheed Dosani, Dr. Nadine Persaud and Rick Firth, President and CEO, HPCO.
The recipient of the 2024 Mount Pleasant Group Hospice Innovation Award is Kensington Hospice.
To meet their goal of providing equitable and accessible care to community members, Kensington Hospice implemented a clinical health equity program led by their Executive Director and their Clinical Health Equity Lead to help frontline staff integrate equity, diversity, and inclusion practices into all areas of the organization.
To achieve this, they enrolled all staff in various formal and informal educational training programs, including trauma-informed care, anti-racism, harm reduction, cultural humility, and cultural safety. They also revamped their referrals program to create stronger community partnerships to meet the true needs of their community.
The result was a measurable increase in community-based referrals, racialized residents served, residents who identified as being underhoused, residents who identified as having mental health illness, and residents who were non-English speaking. Kensington hospice’s commitment to employing innovative solutions to create clear pathways for individuals requiring care has laid a solid foundation upon which to grow this program.
Dr. Nadine Persaud, Executive Director, and Dr. Naheed Dosani, Clinical Health Equity Program Lead, accepted the award on behalf of Kensington Hospice.
The award was presented at our Awards Gala on June 10, 2024, which occurred during our Annual Conference. The 2024 conference theme was Palliative Care Everywhere. Building on the 2023 conference theme of Now is the Time, Palliative Care Everywhere underscores the importance of a palliative approach to care being available in all settings where people die. Despite the progress we have made, many people do not have equitable access to quality, integrated, patient-centred, sustainable hospice palliative care services. Whether at home, in hospice, in long-term care, in hospital, group homes, prisons, shelters, or unhoused, palliative care must be available in all settings and for all people.
