Assisi Hospice provides bereavement care services to any bereaved individual in the community who needs support to cope with grief and reintegrate into life after loss. We have created Grief Cafes, where individuals come to share freely about their grief. Designed to be like a café or community space with a casual, inclusive and comforting atmosphere, it is a place where people can come together to share their stories, emotions, and experiences in a compassionate and non-judgmental environment. Led by trained grief counsellors, individuals are guided in navigating their grief journey through open conversations.
For 70 year-old Monica Lai, it was a huge blow when her husband passed on suddenly due to a heart attack in 2021. In 2023, she attended the Grief Café organised by Assisi Hospice Grief and Bereavement Care team.
She said, “I could share my experiences and feelings comfortably and without reservations during the Grief Café. The people in the group have had similar experiences, and they were able to understand how I feel, even without me saying much.”
In 2024, we adopted the Entrustable Professional Activities (EPA) framework as the foundation for onboarding and developing Home Care nurses. Originally designed for medical education, this framework has been adapted to suit the complexities of community-based palliative care. It offers a structured, work-based approach to training and assessment, focusing on real-world clinical responsibilities.
These outings, be it a simple day at the beach or something more exotic, like a durian omakase workshop, enabled our Day Care patients to embrace what they truly love and brought much joy. We thank our volunteers and staff for making these trips happen!
Our Home Care patient, Mdm Leong Siew Yeng, had a special place in her heart for the family’s beloved Shih Tzu, which had gone to the Rainbow Bridge years ago. Even as her health declined, her love for animals never faded. Her daughter, Rhoda, sensing how much she missed the presence of her furry companion, reached out for a final gift of comfort — a therapy dog visit.
Thanks to our incredible volunteers, therapy dog Ally and her human, Wendy, that wish came true.
What do therapy dogs do and how do they play a part in providing comfort and joy to our patients and their families? Assisi Hospice launched an illustration book – “Paws for Love”, which chronicles the adventures of Onyx, one of our therapy dogs, as he embarks on his volunteering journey, winning over patients who are initially hesitant to connect with his paw love. Through the eyes of Onyx, the book demonstrates how our therapy dogs and palliative care team bring joy and make a difference to patients on their final journeys. Our lovely volunteer therapy dogs and their owners had a blast at the book launch held in Oct 2024, seeing their experiences presented through the beautiful illustrations.
Thanks to our incredible volunteers, therapy dog Ally and her human, Wendy, that wish came true.
It was an incredible day at Assisi Fun Day, Singapore’s largest charity carnival on 15 Jun 2025! Families came together for a day packed with delicious food, thrilling games & rides, and entertaining performances — all while supporting a beautiful cause.
The inaugural “Understanding Palliative Care from a Catholic Perspective” session was held on 5 Nov 2024, where Friar Edward Lim and specialist practitioners from the Assisi Care Team, including our doctor and colleagues from the Psychosocial Support and Clinical Pastoral Care team, shared their insights on providing compassionate palliative care in alignment with Catholic values.
