RN, Palliative Care Consultants Network
A passionate and dedicated advocate for greater equity in public health policies, 2021's RN recipient of the second-annual Nursing Now Ontario Awards is Mahoganie Hines. With positivity and much compassion, Hines has consistently demonstrated professionalism as a pain and symptom management consultant in the Region of Niagara. Hines provides much-needed palliative and end-of-life care to residents in more than 30 long-term care homes across the region.
It is her holistic approach – examining medical, emotional, spiritual, and other factors – and working within a team environment that inspires the dedicated work that she does every day. Hines is a strong leader and mentor to nurses and other health-care professionals. She supports education and mentorship throughout her community around palliative care and end-of-life care as an instructor for Comprehensive Advance Palliative Care Education (CAPCE), an education program for RNs and RPNs in community care.
She has built many strong relationships within the local community and with government officials working to make the region healthy, safe and accessible for all. At the request of her member of provincial parliament, Hines presented the importance of palliative and compassionate care at the first and final readings of the Compassionate Care Act for Ontario, which reached royal assent in December 2020. In addition, Hines was recognized by her community as a “Top 40 Under 40” – a prestigious award that recognizes success in the private, public and not-for-profit sectors. She was honoured for her volunteer and professional work in the Niagara community. The devastating COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound impact on health-care professionals, including Hines. “We are all tired and we are doing the very best that we can with limited resources,” she notes. “I hope that the pandemic has shined a light on the fractures in our health-care system and they can be repaired.”
