Hospice Heartbeats: Margaret’s Place Hospice at St. Joseph’s Villa Wins 2025 MPG Innovation Award

In a quiet room at Margaret’s Place Hospice, a heartbeat is recorded – not for diagnosis, but for memory. That simple rhythm becomes a song, a keepsake, a legacy. This deeply human innovation has earned the team at Margaret’s Place Hospice at St. Joseph’s Villa in Dundas, Ont., the 2025 Mount Pleasant Group Innovation Award.

The award, established in 2019, recognizes creative, community-based approaches to hospice palliative care across Ontario. With a $10,000 grant, it supports projects that enhance the emotional, spiritual and psychosocial dimensions of end-of-life care.

“Margaret’s Place Hospice’s winning nomination, Hospice Heartbeats, is a deeply moving project that exemplifies the kind of innovation we wish to support and encourage for the sensitive care of people and families confronting dying, death and grief,” said Abigail Brown, Director of Marketing, Communications and Outreach with Mount Pleasant Group. “We believe Hospice Heartbeats will provide much needed warmth, comfort and lasting memories for the dying and those who love them alike and we are honoured to support this incredible initiative.”

This year’s winning project, Hospice Heartbeats, does just that – and more.

The idea began during Kyla Lance’s internship as a music therapist at Connecting in Rhythm, where she first encountered the concept of recording heartbeats. But it wasn’t until she began working in hospice care that she understood the full emotional weight of legacy work.

“When I heard someone’s heartbeat for the first time in this context, I thought of organ transplant stories – families hearing their loved one’s heartbeat again in someone else,” Kyla said. “The power of a heartbeat is indescribable.”

From that inspiration, Kyla developed a program that records a resident’s heartbeat and electrocardiogram (ECG), then transforms it into personalized legacy items: audio compositions, framed prints, tattoos, embroidered quilts and even teddy bears that hold the sound of a loved one’s heartbeat.

The heartbeat project has become more than a legacy tool – it’s a bridge.

“The stethoscope gives me a way into someone’s story,” Kyla said, who uses GarageBand to pair heartbeats with music or voice recordings. “It opens the door to their personal life and their personal space.”

Jennifer Morritt, Margaret’s Place Manager, agrees.

“The people who come to hospice are so open for us to tend to their bodies and physical concerns, but they are often less ready for us to tend to their heart, souls and minds,” said Jennifer. “We’re not a society that wants to talk about emotions. When Kyla can use the stethoscope, she can make that bridge to address the things that are harder to see. The heartbeat project has been so huge with that.”

The $10,000 award will help expand the program’s reach.

“We’ll be able to purchase more equipment, train volunteers and make the process more accessible,” said Jennifer. “The majority of our volunteers would be unfamiliar with this technology. This funding will allow us to teach them how to use the stethoscope and app, so they can help capture these moments even when Kyla isn’t available.”

The response from families has been overwhelmingly positive.

“They’re overjoyed,” said Kyla. “They ask for things I haven’t even thought of and now, with this grant, we might just have the funds. That’s what client-centered care is all about.”

Jennifer added, “There’s this mixture of awe, amazement and immense gratitude. It just brings a sense of peace. We can give that sense of joy to a family.”

Speaking of joy, in a place where the moments of sadness can feel overwhelming, the Heartbeat Project is a breath of fresh air.

“If we can give even a bit of hope or joy, we’ve done our job,” said Kyla.

Photo from left to right: Abigail Brown, Director of Marketing, Communications and Outreach, Mount Pleasant Group; Kyla Lance, Music Therapist; Jennifer Morritt, Manager, Margaret's Place Hospice; Rick Firth, President and CEO of HPCO.