The RRU provides care 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and works to ensure that hospitalized patients can return home as quickly as possible—whether on weekdays or weekends, during the day or in the evening.
For individuals who remain at home and wish to avoid hospitalization despite requiring intensive end-of-life care, the same level of comprehensive support and clinical care is provided in the home.
The Rapid Response Unit (RRU) is a specialized interdisciplinary team that supports people at the end of life who wish to remain at home despite experiencing complex, difficult-to-manage symptoms.
Specialist physicians, nurses, healthcare aides and a range of complementary care professionals work together to provide personalized, patient-centred care tailored to each individual’s needs.
Every care plan is developed according to the patient’s needs, wishes and circumstances, as well as those of their loved ones.
Our team is available around the clock and provides care day and night, seven days a week, ensuring a rapid response and seamless continuity of care.
The RRU helps patients avoid unnecessary ambulance transfers, emergency department visits and hospital admissions by providing at home many of the specialized services that are traditionally available only in hospital settings.
For those who choose it, we offer the opportunity to spend their final days in the comfort and security of home, surrounded by the people they love.
In addition to medical and nursing care, RRU patients may benefit from complementary services designed to promote comfort, well-being and quality of life, including:
The Rapid Response Unit (RRU) cannot be accessed directly by patients or their loved ones. Referrals must be made by the clinical teams at our partner institutions, including the CHUM, the CLSCs of Santé Québec West-Central Montreal Health and Social Services University Network, and healthcare professionals at the Jewish General Hospital.
The RRU is intended for people at the end of life whose condition requires specialized home-based care beyond what can be provided through standard home care services. Partner clinical teams assess each patient’s eligibility according to established criteria and submit a referral when appropriate.
Eligibility Criteria
The Rapid Response Unit (RRU) is a specialized interdisciplinary team that supports people at the end of life who wish to remain at home despite experiencing complex, difficult-to-manage symptoms.
Patient at home whose condition is rapidly deteriorating during the final stage of life
Patients in Pathway 1 or Pathway 2 who request Medical Assistance in Dying (MAiD) and whose prognosis is less than six weeks.
One of the Rapid Response Unit’s (RRU) key objectives is to bring specialized hospital-based approaches into the home, allowing patients at the end of life to benefit from advanced clinical care in the comfort of their own surroundings.
Examples of innovative practices currently being implemented through the Rapid Response Unit include:
When care becomes increasingly complex, loved ones often find themselves managing medications, treatments and countless day-to-day responsibilities. Through our specialized clinical care, they are able to step away from the role of caregiver and simply be there for the person they love—to share meaningful moments, offer comfort and accompany them through the final stage of life, rather than providing the care themselves.
The Rapid Response Unit (RRU) currently serves the West-Central Montreal region and surrounding areas. Our goal is to gradually expand this innovative model to other parts of Montreal so that more people can receive specialized palliative care in the comfort of their own homes.
The continued growth of the RRU will depend, in part, on ongoing financial support from Quebec’s Ministry of Health and Social Services.
Our model is built on close collaboration with the five CLSCs of Santé Québec West-Central Montreal Health and Social Services University Network, the Jewish General Hospital and the CHUM, ensuring seamless continuity of care for people at the end of life.
We are also developing new partnerships with other hospitals to make this model of care accessible to even more patients across Montreal.
Let’s work together to help Quebecers who want a dignified end-of-life experience. Let’s have the courage to offer them beauty at the end of life.