Jill Carty is a member of the Patient and Family Advisory Committee (PFAC) for the Mississippi River Health Alliance (MRHA). The MRHA is comprised of the Almonte General Hospital (AGH) and the Carleton Place & District Memorial Hospital (CPDMH). These two hospitals along with Fairview Manor and the Lanark County Paramedic Service have formed strong ties with the single goal of providing the best care close to home. PFAC serves in an advisory capacity to represent patients and families so that a partnership can be formed to ensure the hospitals are able to better identify and integrate patient and family perspectives into the planning, design, and development of services and quality improvement activities. Jill is a retired Technical Writer and past owner of The Pawstry Chef (a dog biscuit company). For nine years, Jill was a caregiver to both of her parents. The journey at the beginning was fueled by her devotion and love for her parents, but as their health started to rapidly decline, it changed into a role that delivered more sadness, exhaustion, heightened emotional and moral distress, and ended with a struggle to support her father's decision to have surgery, which turned into an end-of-life decision.