On February 28, an open invitation was posted to the forums asking you, our community members, to complete a survey about re-organizing our forums. Seventeen members responded to the survey; 9 respondents liked the the new forum topics and descriptions as proposed, 6 suggested minor changes.

All of your suggestions provided useful feedback for the development of our community. Some of them we used right away and others will influence community decisions down the road. Here are some of your suggestions and the revisions and rationale.

Member Suggestion (MS):: Include a discussion area for the terminally ill patient. I would suggest  "Living with a serious illness"

Virtual Hospice (VH): You got it. Serveral of you suggested this. So the forum “Just Want to Talk” has been changed to “I am living with serious illness”     

MS: I'm not sure whether it would work, but a forum discussing how people have dealt with the financial aspect of how cancer has affected their lives.

VH: Yes, the financial hardship due to serious illness is a burden many bear. This subject is often talked about in various discussion threads throughout the forums. Currently we have 2 threads that specifically refer to finances and working while caring for someone Caregiving and Finances and Work / Job?. As our community continues to grow, this topic may warrant a forum of its own.

MS: Caring for someone at home and caring in an institution are very different experiences.

VH: True; and for some, the wish or ability to care for someone at home may take a different path or vice versa as circumstances dictate. As the number of threads increases, these topics may be divided  into 2 separate forums.          

MS: Can we have all the French posts in one place so the francophones can find each other more easily.

Bien oui. J’ai crée le forum Simplement envie de parler (en français) pour donner la communauté francophone une chance d’épanouir.

MS: Is there someplace on the website that can tell people who visit how to get the word out there?  Maybe a list of ideas?

VH: Great idea. Let’s brainstorm this one together. I’ve started a thread called Let Others Know about Virtual Hospice with a few suggestions. Many of you are our best ambassadors. Share how you tell people about Virtual Hospice.

MS: Graphically I would make the title of the Forum larger or bold or different from the description. It is a running together.

VH: Vitual Hospice (VH): Absolutely. The survey didn’t allow for formatting, but our forums do. The titles are in a different font colour from the descriptions.

MS: I am not sure those descriptions are written as crisply and clearly as possible.

VH: We tightened up the descriptions. How do you like them now?

Thank you for all your suggestions. Got more? Let us know.