Hospice Foundation of America
E-Newsletter
Volume 6, Issue 5
May 2006
http://www.hospicefoundation.org

 Message from David Abrams, President/CEO

In this issue HFA announces the launch of an Internet-based, hospice locator service, Hospicedirectory.org (www.hospicedirectory.org) Perhaps you are thinking, “I provide local hospice services. I don’t need an additional Internet presence.” In 2006, nothing could be further from the truth. Families and friends are geographically scattered and are using the Internet to answer questions and seek solutions. People come to HFA via the Internet and call us every day asking for help and advice. They want information about hospice services in their communities, or they may be looking for a hospice hundreds of miles away to help care for a parent, grandparent, or loved one. Hospicedirectory.org is designed to bring referral sources, as well as families and patients needing more information about hospice services, directly to hospice providers. HFA is committed to offering Hospicedirectory.org as a free program to hospices, referral sources and the public -- now and into the future.

Back to top

Focus on: 2007 National Bereavement Teleconference

In 2007, HFA’s Living with Grief^® teleconference and accompanying book will be Living with Grief: Before and After the Death. This teleconference, as well as the accompanying book, will explore the most current theoretical perspectives on loss and grief as experienced by persons throughout a life-limiting illness and by survivors after the death. A particular focus will be paid to areas where understandings of grief have been challenged. The program will be useful to a range of professionals who counsel persons who are bereaved including psychologists, counselors, clergy, social workers, nurses and other health care workers, as well as educators, teachers and school-based personnel. The information will also be helpful to individuals who offer education on loss, grief, dying or death.

A panel of experts will examine and discuss the following topics:

• Anticipatory grief and anticipatory mourning: approaches that professional caregivers can use to assist patients and families struggling with loss in life-threatening illness;
• Strategies and interventional approaches that professional caregivers can use at the moment of death and in funeral rituals to help survivors cope with loss;
• Ways that our understandings of grief have changed over the last 20 years and how changes have influenced practice;
• Research on the effectiveness of grief interventions;
• The current debate over a new DSM diagnostic category for complicated grief; and

Current research and theory on grief reactions of professional caregivers, and ways that individuals and organizations can effectively support grieving staff and volunteers.Our panel of experts, the table of contents of the book and authors, as well as a date for the teleconference broadcast will be announced in our next e-newsletter.

Back to top

What’s New @HFA

HFA is pleased to announce the launch of Hospicedirectory.org, its most recent project, an Internet hospice locator service that lists every hospice in North America and the U.S. territories. Located at www.hospicedirectory.org, the free service combines a sophisticated search engine with a comprehensive directory of hospice providers, their phone numbers, service areas, certifications and provider services. Hospices can create a free on-line profile to help direct potential clients to their own website. Hospicedirectory.org is FREE to all hospices and to the consumer.

Hospices should check their mail for a brochure, which describes Hospicedirectory.org and gives easy instructions on how to register and complete the hospice profile. If a hospice does not receive a Hospicedirectory.org brochure, contact HFA at 800-868-5171 or (the preferred way) via email to hdadmin@hospicefoundation.org.

Hospicedirectory.org is searchable now by state and city, but over time, as hospices register and input county and zip code information, the search engine will be even more useful. At that time, consumers will be able to search by state, city, zip code, or county. As hospices register and complete their profiles, the site will become richer because specific services at thousands of the nation’s hospices will be accessible from one central location, Hospicedirectory.org.

Back to top

A Special Thanks for our Site Coordinators!

There are unsung heroes in many communities who are important to the Living With Grief teleconference project, and who we think deserve recognition – the Site Coordinators who take the time and effort to bring the program to their workplaces, local schools and colleges, churches and other venues. The viewing audience does not get to see the work this group puts in behind the scenes to make the program happen. We would like to recognize them all, but listing all 2,000 would be difficult. We would like to specially recognize those who have coordinated a teleconference in their communities for five or more years, as well as the ten-year veterans who have been with us for nearly every teleconference. HFA will be mailing certificates to these coordinators in appreciation of their dedication and commitment, and will send a special recognition to those who have been site coordinators for more than ten years. View the list here.

Back to top

Pain Management at the End of Life

One of the most frequently asked questions by viewers of HFA's recent 2006 teleconference was in reference to a method for assessing pain in adults with severe cognitive impairment. This subject is discussed in the HFA companion book Pain Management at the End of Life: Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice in a chapter by Keela Herr, PhD, RN, and Sheila Decker, PhD and gerontological nurse practitioner. Authors Herr and Decker point out that self-report of pain is still the "gold standard," and that adults with cognitive impairments are able in many cases to self-report pain. However, in cases where cognitive impairment involves loss of language skills, surrogate and observational reports should be used. Herr and Decker recommend using an algorithm for pain assessment (found on page 95; published originally in Geriatrics at Your Fingertips, and used with permission.) The authors also recommend observing common pain behaviors (found on Table 1 on page 98), which may include facial expressions, verbalizations and vocalizations, body movements, changes interpersonal interactions, and mental status changes. (Note: This table was first published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2002, and is used with permission.)

HFA will post other Frequently Asked Questions from the teleconference, with responses from the panel, on our website in the next few weeks.

Back to top

News from the Hospice World

Seven new translations of the 2000 WHO guidelines document, “Achieving Balance in National Opioids Control Policy,” have been added to the Pain and Policy Studies Group’s public access website. The Arabic, Chinese, Hindi, Indonesian, Portuguese, Swahili and Tagalog translations, as well as 14 others, are online here.

Back to top

Site Coordinator’s Corner

Remember: Discounted book prices are available for Site Coordinators through this Friday, May 12. You can order online through the Site Coordinator web page.

Back to top

This newsletter is sent to more than 6,400 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, as well as what's new at HFA.  We encourage you to forward this e-newsletter to an interest colleague or friend. To subscribe, go to HFA's E-Newsletter sign-up page.

Privacy Statement: In no case will we share e-mail addresses. See the full text of HFA's Privacy Policy.

This newsletter is published by Hospice Foundation of America
David Abrams, President and CEO
http://www.hospicefoundation.org/
Board of Directors: Thomas E. Bryant, MD, JD; Myra MacPherson; Priscilla Perry; Patricia Spulak; Thomas Spulak
© Hospice Foundation of America 2006