Community comes together to support new nurse practitioner for Andy’s House

Gillian Armstrong arrived in Muskoka with a wealth of knowledge, ready to apply that expertise in her new role as a nurse practitioner for Hospice Muskoka at Andy’s House. However, Armstrong had no place to stay, and the palliative care organization didn’t know if they could even afford her salary. 

That’s where Kathryn Monk stepped in to help make sure Armstrong gets paid and was soon followed by Robert Salna, owner of the Muskoka Lakes Hotel, and Peter Quattro, the hotel’s general manager, who made sure made sure she would have a roof over her head. 

Monk created the Dr. William S. Monk Community Health Care Development Fund in Oct. 2023 to help recruit, retain, and train healthcare workers in Muskoka. 

She points out how Ontario’s government doesn’t help pay the wages of nurse practitioners, rather it’s on the organizations that hire them to ensure their cheques don’t bounce. 

“Hospice was faced with critical, critical resources challenges in the fall of 2023,” shares Monk. 

Armstrong comes to Andy’s House after spending time at the Oakville Trafalgar Memorial Hospital. 

She explains how she got in touch with Donna Kearney, executive director of Hospice Muskoka, after seeing her listed as a speaker during a seminar on palliative and long-term care. “I reached out to her personally,” she continues. “I found Andy’s House. I looked up where she worked what she did and sent her an email saying I’m a nurse practitioner student, I currently work in palliative care as a registered nurse, I’m currently doing my nurse practitioner degree, and I would love an opportunity to work with you.” 

After coordinating with the University of Toronto, Armstrong spent a couple of months working with a hospice before venturing off to begin her career as a nurse practitioner. 

It was earlier this year that Kearney reached out to Armstrong. 

Lynn DeCaro, program director for the Muskoka Community Foundation, was helping Monk with her fund and felt Hospice Muskoka would be a good place to start. 

“Every time I walk through the doors of Andy’s House, I’m always greeted with love,” she says. 

With the issue of how Armstrong would get paid addressed, another problem was uncovered: where is she going to stay? 

Salna and Quattro had helped Kearney in 2023 when they provided a room for a guest speaker that was in town for an event, so Kearney reached out. 

“This is home and, being home, I want to make sure that we have the best of hospitals and best of services,” says Quattro, who has called Port Carling home since moving to the area from Toronto in 2009. 

The room they initially provided Armstrong was nice, but Quattro says – with a wry smile – they want her to stay permanently so they upgraded her room to one with a view of Lake Rosseau. He adds how to “re-energize” Port Carling, it needs to become a good place for people to live year-round, not just when the weather is nice. 

“It’s not just Port Carling,” adds Monk. 

Since Andy’s House opened in Oct. 2020, Kearney has worked towards opening satellite offices in Bracebridge and Gravenhurst 

“We don’t have a pipeline of [personal support workers],” continues Monk. “We don’t have enough nurse practitioners. The whole system needs to be supported.” 

Armstrong’s first day at Andy’s House was Monday, Sept. 9. 

She spent nearly nine years with Halton Healthcare, which operates the hospital in Oakville, which includes three as a palliative care nurse practitioner. 

“In the hospital, it’s a very medicalized setting,” she explains. “It’s white walls, it’s alarm bells. It’s kind of cold.” 

Armstrong adds there’s nothing wrong with the hospital setting, but it’s not the best place for someone to be at the end of their life. 

“At Andy’s House, you have a warmth around you,” she says. “It’s like home.”