Leaders in end-of-life and palliative care, including SWHPN Chair Grace Christ and board member Judy Peres, convened in Washington last week to discuss The Transformation Project: A New Initiative to Substantially Improve Advanced Illness Care. The project is co-directed by Myra Christopher, President and CEO of the Center for Practical Bioethics, and Bill Novelli, Professor at the McDonough School of Business at Georgetown University and former CEO of AARP. SWHPN board member Judy Peres is deputy director of the project.

“The purpose of the initiative is to develop a national, broad-based coalition to engage the American public and truly reform care for the seriously ill and dying.” —Myra Christopher.

In attendance at the D.C. meeting were representatives of multiple disciplines and organizations in palliative, hospice and end-of-life care.

The Peter G. Peterson Foundation, which funds this project, states that it is working “to bring Americans together to find sensible, long-term solutions that transcend age, party lines and ideological divides in order to achieve real results.

Read the full press release.

Dr. Robert Butler (83), Pulitzer Prize winning author of Why Survive? Being Old in America (Harper & Row, 1975), died Sunday, July 4, in New York City of acute leukemia. Butler, a psychiatrist, idealist and scholar, contributed much to the field of aging, coining the term “ageism” to describe discrimination against the elderly, and the phrase “life review” to describe elders’ experience reliving past memories. His many accolades include serving as the founding director of the National Institute on Aging at the National Institutes of Health, heading the American Association for Geriatric Psychiatry, the Alzheimer’s Disease Association and the International Longevity Center. Moreover, Butler was one of the U.S.’s strongest advocates for the elderly in political, social and institutional forums.

SWHPN owes much to Robert Butler for the role he played in advocating for our initiative as a board member with the Project on Death in America at the Open Society Institute. His work and ideals will continue to inspire scholars, practitioners, aging Americans and their families for years to come. He is survived by his daughters, Christine Butler, Carole Butler Hall, Cynthia Butler and Alexandra Butler, and six grandchildren. Please join us in remembering his great contribution to our field.

Barbara Monroe, Chief Executive of St. Christopher’s Hospice in London has been appointed a Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire in the Queen’s Birthday 2010 Honours List. SWHPN congratulates Dame Barbara Monroe on her well-deserved achievement and on her many years of service providing quality and compassionate palliative care.

Please join the SWHPN Executive Committee in extending special thanks to SWHPN Board Member Tracy Schroepfer for helping to make the Hear from the Experts Series on the SWHPN-LHP discussion forum a great success.

Over the past few months, Tracy has coordinated the series and brought expert content to our members on topics such as Palliative Care in the VA, Telehealth in Palliative Care, Cultural Competence in Hospice and this month’s Palliative Care in Nursing Homes. Tracy is Associate Professor at the University of Wisconsin School of Social Work and Co-Director of the Cancer Health Disparities Initiative at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is an avid palliative care researcher and an active and vital member of the SWHPN Board and Executive Committee. Read Tracy’s profile on swhpn.org.

Tracy’s efforts and the contributions of our featured experts have added rich content and discussion to our online forum. We look forward to valuable discussion in the future and encourage members to log in, join the discussion, and consult our experts.

No Good Deed: A story of medicine, murder accusations and the debate over how we die. Lewis Mitchell Cohen, MD. Harper Collins, 2010.

Transforming Palliative Care in Nursing Homes: The Social Work Role. Edited by SWHPN Board Member Mercedes Bern-Klug. Columbia University Press, 2010.

Months to Live, Palliative Care Doctor Fought for Life, New York Times, April 3, 2010.

Palliative Care Programs Continue Rapid Growth in U.S. Hospitals, CAPC, April 5, 2010.

The Pain of Losing a Spouse is Singular, Jane Brody, New York Times, April 6, 2010.

Katie Couric on How Children Mourn, CBS Sunday Morning, April 11, 2010.

The International Association for Hospice and Palliative Care (IAHPC) will provide 10 scholarships to palliative care workers from developing countries to attend the 18th International Congress in Montréal on October 5-8, 2010. The congress organizers have put together a comprehensive program with sessions in English, French and Spanish. Click here to see the Congress program. The deadline to submit posters to the congress is May 30, 2010.

Applications are accepted from individuals from all health professions, and an effort will be made to have a balanced regional representation. Palliative care workers from Asia, Eastern Europe, Latin America and Africa are welcome to apply. Click here for information and eligibility criteria for travelling grants. The deadline to apply for this traveling scholarship is July 15, 2010.

Sharing Our Knowledge: Publishing in Journals, the first SWHPN-hosted webinar, is now available FREE for SWHPN members as a video download. This download is also available for purchase by non-members.

This download features the practical nuts and bolts of translating practice experiences into manuscripts for submission to a social work journal including the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care (JSWEOL). Hear and view presentations from Ellen Csikai, JSWEOL Editor; Grace Christ, SWHPN Board Chair; and moderator Susan Blacker, Director of Cancer Services, Planning and Performance at St. Michael’s Hospital. Read more on swhpn.org.

Stay tuned for future webinars. The planning process is under way for a series featuring our Hear from the Experts contributors. Become a SWHPN Member for these exclusive webinars, free access to the Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care and other member benefits.

The Journal of Social Work in End-of-Life and Palliative Care has issued a call for manuscripts for a special thematic issue on “Pediatric Issues in Palliative and End-of-Life Care”

Manuscripts for this issue are due by September 15, 2010.

A range of psychosocial issues are experienced when children are affected by chronic or life-limiting illness; not the least of which is the effect on the entire family system. For this special thematic issue, manuscripts submitted for consideration could include a range of issues involving children and families dealing with chronic or life-limiting illnesses, such as use of palliative care or hospice care, pain management issues with children; plan of care/decision-making issues; working with children and families of diverse cultural populations, family members’ anticipatory grief/ bereavement; children’s grief/bereavement related to sibling or parent death, suicide or other traumatic death; unique developmental issues for children who are dying, their siblings and the impact on family development (age appropriate interventions, sibling, school and peer issues); professional caregiver issues or any other related topic.

Manuscripts should address practice implications for social work/mental health professionals regarding the issue identified.

Manuscripts must follow APA style of writing and should be no more than 20-25 pages (longer manuscripts may be considered).   Address questions about this call (such as whether your topic/idea is appropriate) to Ellen L. Csikai, editor at 205-348-4447 or ecsikai@sw.ua.edu

Submissions should be sent electronically to:

Ellen L. Csikai, Ph.D

ecsikai@sw.ua.edu

The University of Alabama, School of Social Work

Box 870314, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0314