Hospice Foundation of America E-Newsletter
October 2004
Hospice Foundation of America E-Newsletter
Volume 4, Issue 10
October 2004
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Message from David Abrams, President
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Every day in people's homes, in hospitals, in nursing homes, families face difficult decisions about care for their loved one at the end of life. Hospice professionals and other caregivers can play a critical role in helping to guide families through the decision-making process, but the ethical issues surrounding these decisions are complex and challenging, and are made more so by advances in medical technology.
Hospice Foundation of America will examine these issues in our year-long focus on Ethical Dilemmas at the End of Life, culminating in our 12th annual National Bereavement Teleconference on April 20. The teleconference and companion materials are intended for anyone involved in caregiving or dealing with end-of-life issues. The program will offer a framework for understanding the difficult moral, legal, and ethical circumstances that surround caring for someone who is dying. I hope that you will join the more than 100,000 people each spring that attend this educational event.
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Focus on: "Living With Grief: Ethical Dilemmas at the End of Life
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HFA's 12th annual National Bereavement Teleconference, "Living With Grief: Ethical Dilemmas at the End of Life," will be broadcast Wednesday, April 20, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. EDT. Ethical decisions at the end of life provide a point where all the factors that influence end-of-life care, such as finances, laws, values and technology, converge. The decisions that are made at the end of life affect not only the way that the person dies, but also the ways that survivors face the loss. These decisions may also influence staff, affecting morale and turnover and directly influencing patient care. HFA has assembled a panel of noted ethicists, educators, gerontologists, and hospice experts who will examine timely and important issues regarding the social perspectives of medical ethics and how various health care settings may influence ethical decisions in hospitals, nursing homes and hospices. The panel will also examine how cultural differences may influence ethical choices.
Panelists will include: Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, Mdiv; Charles Corr, Ph.D.; Richard Fife, Ph.D.; Jack Gordon; Bernice Harper, M.S.W.; Bruce Jennings, M.A.; Bill Lamers, MD; Richard Payne, MD; and JoAnne Reifsynder, RN., Ph.D.
Read the Learning Objectives for the program.
Learn more about how to host a teleconference site, by reading our Frequently Asked Questions.
Read a Table of Contents from the companion book.
The teleconference is sponsored in part by:
The Foundation for
End of Life Care
With Additional Support from The Hastings Center
In cooperation with National Hospice Work Group
And the Association for Death Education and Counseling
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What's New @ HFA
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Hospice Foundation of America has launched an Internet course designed to
educate clergy and congregational lay leaders in end-of-life issues.
"Engaging Faith Communities in End-of-Life Care" is sponsored by the
Florida Department of Elder Affairs and offered for free to Florida clergy and
lay leaders. The goal of the program is to provide assistance to clergy and
congregational leaders in end-of-life issues so that they may more effectively
minister to families facing terminal illness. The Internet course is the
culmination of a project developed by the Hospice Foundation of America with the
assistance of a distinguished faculty, which was offered to more than 600 clergy
members in regional seminars throughout Florida. Continuing Education credits
are available for a range of professionals at a nominal cost. For more
information, please go to:
http://www.endoflife.org
HFA publishes a Holiday Issue of the bereavement newsletter, Journeys. This special issue, which contains four articles offering practical advice and support to those coping with loss during the holidays, is used by many professionals to help the grieving families with whom they work, and can be ordered individually or in bulk. For more information or to request a sample copy, please e-mail hfaoffice@hospicefoundation.org
Or place an order online.
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Site Coordinator's Corner
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Registration to host a site for the 2005 teleconference has begun. A mailing has been sent to all past Site Coordinators. Registration is also available online.
Early Bird Special: The site registration fee is only $20 for Site Coordinators who register before January 15th!
If you work with other organizations at the local or national level that would be interested in this year's topic, please pass along information about the teleconference to them. If you belong to any professional associations whose members would benefit from knowing about the program, please contact us at telecon@hospicefoundation.org and we would be happy to share information with them.
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F.Y.I.
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The month of November will be an important time for communities to honor and support those who work in caregiving and end-of-life care. Visit the websites below for more information about how your organization can get involved in:
National Hospice Month
The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
National Family Caregivers Month
The National Family Caregivers Association
The National Association of Social Workers is pleased to present its new Web-based course, "Understanding End of Life Care: The Social Worker's Role". The free course is geared toward social workers, health care providers, and anyone whose life may be touched by death and dying. Social workers who complete the course successfully will earn 2.0 free social work CEUs. Course topics include the complexities of end-of-life care in the United States, special considerations, the social worker's role, and available resources.
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This newsletter is sent to more than 6,900 subscribers on the 2nd Wednesday of
every month to keep you informed of what is happening in the fields of hospice,
grief and bereavement, and caregiving.
Hospice Foundation of America is funded by contributions from individuals, corporations, associations and fraternal groups, as well as by grants from foundations and corporations. We are a qualified member of the Combined Federal Campaign, under the Health and Medical Research Charities of America federation.
We encourage you to forward this e-newsletter to an interested colleague or friend. To subscribe, go to HFA's E-Newsletter sign-up page.
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This newsletter is published by Hospice Foundation of America
Jack D. Gordon, Chairman
David Abrams, President
http://www.hospicefoundation.org
© Hospice Foundation of America 2004
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