Hospice and Caregiving Blog

End-of-Life Ethics: A Case Study Approach

2012-01-24T14:27:00.000-05:00

Edited by Charles A. Corr, Kenneth J. Doka, Bruce Jennings, and Amy S. Tucci
-Foreword by Richard B. Fife.

The cases in the book, all written and discussed by prominent professionals, really show “ethics in action.” For professionals, the cases may help to validate the difficult choices that they guide families through every day in hospice and palliative care, or in a hospital or nursing home setting.

The cases highlight real issues, looking at issues around communication, surrogacy, decision making when children or adolescents are involved, and treatment decisions.

- Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv

End-of-Life Ethics: A Case Study Approach is the companion book for HFA’s 2012 Living with Grief® program. Using a case study approach, pre-eminent authors from the fields of ethics and hospice and palliative care examine the realities and challenges that exist at the intersection between ethical decision making and end-of-life care.

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, culture, and technology, converge. Decisions 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 influence staff – affecting morale and turnover consequently directly influencing patient care as well as families struggling with grief.

The book explores the landmark cases that have influenced the course of end-of-life decision making, as well as the newer models of thinking that are emerging as technology and end-of-life care continue to evolve. Authors draw upon cases, ranging from infancy to older adults, that examine what one author calls “the messy realities” of these situations, for patients, families, and health care professionals.

End-of-Life Ethics is written by top experts in the field, including:

Terry Altilio
Timothy R. Arsenault
Eileen R. Chichin
Richard P. Cohen
Nessa Coyle
William Scott Long
Mary Beth Morrissey
Jim Palmer
Russell K. Portenoy
Daniel P. Sulmasy

Order your book today at https://register.hospicefoundation.org/
Simply select “End-of-Life Ethics” from the main Program selection page. Then, on the left-hand menu, select ‘Order Materials’.

Anniversary Special Issue of Journeys

2012-01-20T11:31:00.003-05:00

Start the new year by supporting your bereaved clients with a special offer from Hospice Foundation of America:

Anniversary Special Issue of Journeys

Save 20%
use coupon code: anniv12
Offer Expires: February 10, 2012

This new, expanded special edition of Journeys provides additional support to your clients at the difficult anniversary time after a loss. The 6-page Anniversary Special Issue is packaged in quantities of 50 and 100.

Interesting and informative articles include:

Anniversary blues

Special days

A year is a relative thing

and a special excerpt from the memoir, Signs of Life by Natalie Taylor

Don't miss this opportunity to support your clients with the updated and expanded version of one of HFA's all-time best-selling resources. Use coupon code anniv12 when placing your order.

Click here to order online now!

To print an order form click here.

Five American Physicians Honored for Improving End-of-Life Care

2012-01-19T11:35:00.004-05:00

The recipients of the third annual Hastings Center Cunniff-Dixon Physician Awards, honoring excellence in end-of-life care, were recently announced.

The awards were made in three categories: a senior physician category for leadership in end-of-life care, a mid-career physician category for longstanding commitment to serving patients and for leadership in palliative care, and an early-career physician category for serious commitment to the field and contribution through practical research or clinical work. The recipients were drawn from a national group of nominated candidates.

Janet Bull, MD, chief medical director and principal investigator of Four Seasons, a nonprofit hospice and palliative care organization that serves the Hendersonville and Asheville regions of western North Carolina, received the senior physician award of $25,000. She has served as principal investigator of more than 30 clinical trials to establish best practices in hospice and palliative care. She has also designed an experimental course to train palliative care physicians and provides consulting programs in hospice, palliative care, and research. In addition, she has worked closely with the Palliative Care Association of Zambia to advance policy, education, and clinician training to promote palliative care throughout that country.

Michael Rabow, MD, Professor of Clinical Medicine, University of California‐San Francisco; Director, Symptom Management Service, UCSF Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Care Center, received the mid-career physician award of $25,000. He developed the service, which is one of the first outpatient palliative care services in a comprehensive cancer center in the U.S. It includes an interdisciplinary team of clinicians from medicine, oncology, surgery, nursing, social work, psychology, pharmacy, and chaplaincy.

Early-career awards of $15,000 each were given to three physicians:

Justin N. Baker, MD, FAAP, FAAHPM, director, Division of Palliative and End-of-Life Care, an attending physician, Quality of Life Service, and director of the Hematology/Oncology Fellowship Program at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis, for outstanding leadership and research on palliative care for children.

Jason Morrow, MD, PhD, medical director of palliative care at University Health System in San Antonio, Tx., and an assistant professor of medicine at University of Texas Health Science Center School of Medicine, for his advocacy in expanding palliative care services and his passion for educating medical students, residents, and other physicians in clinical practices and ethics.

Theresa A. Soriano, MD, MPH, director, Mount Sinai Visiting Doctor’s Program, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, for her advocacy and leadership in caring for underserved patients and bringing primary and palliative care to those who are homebound.

NHPCO Releases Updates Facts & Figures on Hospice Care

2012-01-17T11:18:00.000-05:00

The National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) released its annual report on hospice facts and figures showing the number of patients served remained fairly constant at 1.58 million in 2010 (1.56 million were served in 2009). They reported a drop in both median and average length of service.

The median (50th percentile) length of service in 2010 was 19.7 days, a decrease from 21.1 days in 2009.
The average length of service dropped to 67.4 days in 2010 from 69 days in 2009.

Download the PDF report here.

Recommendations from MedPAC for Hospice Payment Adequacy

2012-01-13T11:14:00.005-05:00

The Medicare Payment Advisory Commission (MedPAC) met January 12th and presented its recommendations for hospice payment adequacy.

MedPAC staff reported that the number of hospice usage among Medicare decedents continues to rise and length of stay is increasing. MedPAC repeated it’s recommendations for changes to the Medicare reimbursement model, namely:

1. Payment reform recommendation:

-Increase payments per day at the beginning of the episode and reduce payments per day as the length of the episode increases.

-Provide an additional end-of-episode payment to reflect hospices’ higher level of effort at the end of life.

2. Recommendation for focused medical review of hospices with many long stay patients.

It's Not Too Late to Register for HFA's Fall Program, Beyond Kübler-Ross

2012-01-09T13:37:00.003-05:00

Beyond Kübler-Ross: New Perspectives on Death, Dying and Grief is available now until November 10, 2012. Available only on DVD, this program explores the most current theoretical perspectives on death, dying, and grief, emphasizing areas where understandings of dying, death, and grief have been challenged and developed since the 1969 publication of Kübler-Ross' epochal work, On Death and Dying.

Expert Panelists

Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv, Professor of Gerontology at the Graduate School of the College of New Rochelle

Sherry R. Schachter, PhD, FT, RN, Director Bereavement Services at Calvary Hospital/Hospice

Dale G. Larson, PhD, Professor of Counseling Psychology at Santa Clara University

Elizabeth J. Clark, PhD, ACSW, MPH, Executive Director of the National Association of Social Workers

George Bonanno, PhD, Professor at Columbia University and author of "The Other Side of Sadness: What the New Science of Bereavement Tells us about Life After Loss."

Steven L. Thomason, MD, MDiv, Chief Medical Officer at Circle of Life Hospice of Northwest Arkansas

Register Now for Important Ethics Training

2012-01-04T09:27:00.002-05:00

Hospice Foundation of America's newest educational program, End-of-Life Ethics, becomes available April 19, 2012 on DVD only. Site registration is only $150, but act fast; Registration increases to $200 starting March 15, 2012.

End-of-Life Ethics will explore ethical dilemmas and decisions that occur at the end of life, the principles of ethical decision making, and the effects of these decisions on families and staff. In addition, the program will include interviews of those intimately involved with landmark cases that have shaped end-of-life care in the United States.

This latest program in the annual Living with Grief® series is a must-see for clinicians, ethics committee members, volunteers and non-clinical staff affiliated with your organization.

Three hours of Continuing Education are available for nurses, social workers, counselors, clergy, and more. Registered sites have flexibility to show the program at a time convenient for their organization. CE certificates are available for one year following the DVD release date.

When registering, don't forget to order companion books for your audience! End-of-Life Ethics: A Case Study Approach, is written by ethicists and clinicians and provides a rich guide to ethical decision making using case studies that explore current ethical issues in depth.

Simply click register.hospicefoundation.org to register today!

For more information, visit www.hospicefoundation.org/2012springprogram or call 1-800-854-3402.

Hospice Needs You This Holiday Season

2011-12-16T10:42:00.000-05:00

With the holidays quickly approaching, what better way to celebrate the season that to give the gift of compassion to families facing terminal-illness, loss and grief. HFA has worked tirelessly as an advocate for these families and patients. We’ve educated tens of thousands of professionals with better training on important topics such as ethics, pain management, cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and grief. We’ve supported hospices across North America with bereavement materials and funding for children’s grief camps. But we need your help to do more! Hospice Foundation of America will turn 30 years old next year, and we want to celebrate by doing more to help those in need. Can you help us by donating $30 to support HFA in our 30th year of service?

We know you are inundated with requests from many worthy causes, but we ask that you please consider a donation to the Hospice Foundation of America in your annual charitable giving. Any gift, large or small, can help families find the care and resources that are desperately needed for their loved ones and themselves. Will you please give those individuals comfort today?

Donate to Hospice Foundation of America here today, http://www.hospicefoundation.org/donate

All of us at HFA wish you and yours a merry holiday season and happy New Year!

HFA Saddened by Loss of Longtime Board Member

2011-12-14T11:05:00.002-05:00

Former Hospice Foundation of America Board Member Thomas E. Bryant died on December 9 in a car accident on the Eastern Shore of Maryland. We are saddened by his loss. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family and friends. As an advocate for hospice care, Bryant served on HFA’s board for many years, helping to shape its growth into an organization recognized nationally and internationally for its consumer and professional education.

National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services

2011-12-09T12:46:00.006-05:00

The Journal of Palliative Medicine blog recently posted about the National Standards on Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services issued by the Department of Human Services/Office of Minority Health that outline best practices to provide culturally and linguistically competent care.

Listed as a resource is HFA's 2009 book, Living with Grief: Diversity and End-of-Life Care.

HFA is currently offering this title at 40% off the cover price through December 31st.

To receive the discount, use the code: booksale

Making Choices, Choosing Hospice

2011-12-07T12:25:00.007-05:00

Steve Lopez writes a wonderful piece in the Los Angeles Times about end-of-life care choices. Here he examines the decision of one cancer patient to accept hospice care.

Not that the transition was easy. There were difficult, frank conversations and lots of prayers before a sense of calm settled in and Ramos knew he was done with chemotherapy."

It might give me three more months," Ramos said, but the side effects would be unpleasant, and he was finished with such compromises.

A Kaiser member, Ramos was offered a chance to receive hospice care with a focus on palliative measures. Those are ominous-sounding words to a lot of terminally ill patients, and Ramos was no exception. The picture that popped into his head was of him dying in some kind of nursing facility with the hospice team at his side.

No, he was told. He could go home and be with his family. A doctor, nurse, social worker and chaplain would make house calls, care for Ramos and educate and support his family. If there were emergencies, he could still go to the hospital.

The fact that Ramos has rallied a bit since leaving the hospital in September does not surprise his doctor.

"All of our patients prefer to be home," said Dr. Peter Khang, chief of geriatrics and palliative medicine. He noted that in addition to familiar surroundings, home cooking and the love of family, this kind of care means fewer stressful, exhausting trips to the clinic or hospital.

Select Living with Grief Book Series On Sale Now

2011-12-02T09:15:00.007-05:00

Each year Hospice Foundation of America publishes a companion book to our annual Living with Grief® program. For a limited time, you can purchase a selection of these in-depth resources for 40% off the individual and/or box of books.

Featured titles include:

Living with Grief®: Cancer and End-of-Life Care (2010)
Living with Grief®: Diversity and End-of-Life Care (2009)
Living with Grief®: Children and Adolescents (2008)
Living with Grief®: Before and After the Death (2007)
Pain Management at the End of Life: Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice (2006)
Living with Grief®: Alzheimer's Disease (2004)

To receive the discount, use the code: booksale

Order your Living with Grief® book today!

Offer Expires: December 31, 2011

A Caregiver's Guide to the Dying Process

2011-11-30T09:51:00.000-05:00

Today marks the end of National Family Caregivers Month. Many people who are caring for a terminally ill person have never done it before. A Caregiver’s Guide to the Dying Process can serve as a sensitive, helpful resource for families who are being served by hospice. A Caregiver’s Guide prepares caregivers by discussing both the physical symptoms of dying and the psychological issues that accompany the dying process. It may also be used by hospices and other end-of-life organizations as a helpful training aid for staff and volunteers.

A Caregiver’s Guide to the Dying Process is now available for purchase at our online store. Individuals and families may order individual copies and bulk orders are available in packages of 50 or 100 to organizations that wish to distribute the guide among their patients and families.

National Day of Listening

2011-11-22T11:52:00.000-05:00

The National Day of Listening was started by StoryCorps in 2008. Each year, on the day after Thanksgiving, StoryCorps asks all Americans to take an hour to record an interview with a loved one, using recording equipment readily available in most homes-such as computers, iPhones, tape recorders, or pen and paper-along with StoryCorps' free Do-It-Yourself Instruction Guide, available to download at http://www.nationaldayoflistening.org/. It's one of the least expensive, but most meaningful, gifts you can give your loved ones this holiday season!

http://storycorps.org/initiatives/legacy/

The 2011 National Day of Listening takes place on Friday, November 25, 2011. Instead of getting lost in Black Friday's long shopping lines, get lost in a conversation with a loved one!

Those who work with the dying understand the important process of meaning-making at the end of life. HFA recently produced a series of webinars focusing on various techniques and strategies for supporting people in this process. For more information, go to:

http://www.hospicefoundation.org/webinars-spirituality

Three Cs of Coping with the Holidays

2011-11-21T10:26:00.003-05:00

by Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv, Senior Consultant, HFA
available in HFA's Winter Holiday special issue of Journeys

This new, expanded special edition of Journeys provides additional support to your clients during the holidays.

The new, 6-page Winter Holidays Special Issue is packaged in quantities of 50 and 100.

Order before December 10, 2011 and use discount code wh2011 to receive 20% off.

BONUS OFFER: Any organization ordering 100 copies or more will receive a FREE download of “Grief, Holidays, and Family Dynamics.” This audio program features expert advice and practical assistance from Dr. Sherry Schachter and Dr. Kenneth Doka, discussing how professionals can better serve grieving families during these difficult times. One hour of CEs is included for a wide range of professionals.

Dr. Kenneth J. Doka

Excerpt:

With the rollercoaster-like emotions of grief, the holidays can be an especially tough time. We remember the Chanukah that Aunt Sophia danced in the snow, the Christmas that we received a bike, the Thanksgiving when the turkey was undercooked. These memories remind us of our loss. Other reminders such as cards addressed to the person who died, holiday movies, gifts that seem perfect, can make us feel out of sorts with the season. Everyone else seems so happy and joyful.

The holidays are a tough time to grieve. Knowing that does not make them any easier, but at least it may help us understand and accept our reactions, and tap into the things we can do to help ourselves cope with the holidays.

CHOOSE

During the holidays it is easy to drift into activities that increase our pain. But we do have choices. We can decide what activities we wish to participate in, who we want to be with, what we want to do. After her husband died, June was invited, actually pressured, to join her sister-in-law for the holidays. She decided that she would retain the freedom to choose where she wanted to be on Christmas until that morning. "I never know how much energy I'll have, or how I feel until that day," she explained. On Christmas morning, she decided to have dinner with a few women she had met in a local widow's support group. She chose to go to her sister-in-law's house for dessert.

One of the choices we may want to consider is how to mark the loss during the holidays. During the holidays we feel the presence of that person's absence. Finding ways to recognize and acknowledge that individual can bring a positive focus to our grief. This may be done in a number of ways -- lighting a candle, creating a ritual, placing a memento on a tree, a moment of silence or a holiday toast are simple ways to acknowledge the loss.

Read more from "Three Cs of Coping with the Holidays" in the Winter Holidays Special Issue of Journeys today.

Physician Views on Palliative Care at the End of Life Shared

2011-11-17T10:41:00.000-05:00

Catherine Campbell,
HFA Outreach and Development Officer

HFA Outreach and Development Officer, Catherine Campbell, attended the National Journal Live policy summit on Capitol Hill yesterday. Top line findings from a study funded by the National Journal and the Regence Foundation, entitled Living Well at the End of Life, were presented. The physician survey conducted by FTI Consulting revealed that “physicians express an overwhelmingly positive impression of palliative care.” However, a majority of physicians, 67%, reported that patients are not well informed about their palliative care options, and 91% percent believe that a lack of adequate information is a somewhat to significant barrier in palliative care implementation. Additionally, there is a significant age gap in physicians’ exposure to palliative care information.

Ezekiel Emanuel, M.D., Ph.D., a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and keynote speaker, discussed in depth the learning curve for physicians surrounding conversations on end of life care. He shared with listeners that just thirty years prior end-of-life conversations just were not acknowledged nor a large part of physician training, and there was very little if any education on palliative care or engaging in end-of-life conversations in medical school. The study supports his remarks showing that physicians over sixty receive 62% of their exposure to palliative care in continuing education, as opposed to just 6% in medical school.

These findings evidence the need for greater education and outreach to patients and families in hopes of lowering the barriers to full adaption of palliative and hospice care within the US healthcare system. HFA believes that hospice care is the right choice for many, but not everyone; however, all patients should be informed of every option available to them. Hospice Foundation of America works to support professional and consumer education on hospice and palliative care, including continuing education programs for allied professionals in the field of end-of-life care.

Read the Regence Foundation press release for more information.

Talking with Dying Patients and Their Families

2011-11-14T13:31:00.000-05:00

HFA's next Lunch 'n Learn webcast is coming up!

This Lunch 'n Learn segment focuses on the difficult conversations that take place, or need to take place, with a dying patient and his or her family. Topics will include how to begin a conversation, what issues need to be discussed, how to cope with barriers to open communication and other approaches that can assist a dying patient and their family. View the list of board approvals. Panelists are Hank Dunn, MDiv and Diana Davis, RN, and Geoff Coleman, MD, and they will be joined by Phil Carpenter, MDiv, from HFA.

When: December 7, 2011, 1:00 – 2:00 pm ET
View: Board Approvals

Register Today!

Hank Dunn, MDiv, is an experienced chaplain, having worked over 17 years in both nursing home and hospice settings, a noted author focusing on patients and their families dealing with life-threatening illnesses, and a well-received speaker to a variety of audiences involved in end-of-life care.

Diana Davis, RN, serves as Clinical Manager, Hospice Home Care Team for The Washington Home and Community Hospices, and has worked as a hospice nurse and educator for more than 15 years.
Geoff Coleman, MD, MHA, is Medical Director, Montgomery Hospice, has been a hospice physician since 2003, and previously delivered medical care at a Native American Tribal Clinic in Wisconsin and then internationally in Nairobi, Kenya. He is certified in Hospice and Palliative Care as well as in Family Medicine.

Honoring Veterans at the End of Life

2011-11-08T12:41:00.000-05:00

This Friday, November 11, the nation recognizes Veterans Day and honors the service of thousands of men and women in our Armed Forces. The Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) developed "Veterans and End-of-Life Care," a free online webinar written by Deborah Grassman, ARNP, of the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center. This program will help people learn more about how veterans' military experiences impact their end-of-life experiences - and how hospice can make a difference.

"About 25% of all Americans who are dying are veterans - the men and women who have served our country as members of the Armed Forces," states Lisa McGahey Veglahn, HFA Senior Program Officer. "Yet only 4% of dying veterans die within the Veterans Affairs Healthcare Network. This means that 96% of these veterans are cared for by hospice and healthcare professionals in communities all across the U.S.”

In addition to the program, additional resources and Fact Sheets can be downloaded for sharing with staff, students, and community members at no charge. Free Continuing Education credits are available for a wide range of professionals.

Hospice and end-of-life care professionals will also benefit from viewing HFA's “Reaching Out to Underserved Populations” video. Here, we show a hospice in San Antonio that has a program tailored to the needs of veterans.

These projects are provided through the support of a grant from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) to support hospice and end-of-life care outreach and education.

The Love in Hospice

2011-10-27T12:51:00.000-04:00

November is designated as National Hospice Month and here at HFA we regularly hear from family members about what hospice has meant to them and their loved ones. People tell us about the dedication shown by the hospice nurse, volunteer, social worker or other member of their loved one’s caregiving team.

Many of us at HFA were particularly touched by a piece in the New York Times’ Modern Love column, written by a Minnesota judge who performed an ‘emergency wedding’ for a hospice patient at the behest of his hospice social worker.

THE call came around 3:30 p.m. on a sultry Minnesota day. The hospice social worker, Cheryl, explained the situation in a rush. She had tried 15 judges, and all were either in court or otherwise unavailable. By chance, she had reached me directly.

She said she needed a judge to perform an emergency wedding.

Believe it or not, this was not my first such request of the week. In fact, I often receive these requests, usually involving the need to get a waiver to avoid the required five-day waiting period. Sometimes I am sympathetic, as when the request is spurred by a sudden deployment to Iraq or Afghanistan.

But generally I don’t like to reward those who leave matters like the arrangement of a wedding until the day they want it to happen. My son, Cole, proposed on Valentine’s Day this year for a wedding 18 months later, in August 2012. I was tired of the seemingly endless series of calls from people with ridiculous, impulsive requests.

I leaned back in my desk chair and, as I do when I’m tired, pulled on my right earlobe and scratched my head, the right forefront where my hairline is beginning to retreat. I half-listened as I wondered what to do about the post-trial motions for the case I’d just heard, and the detective waiting outside my chambers for me to sign a search warrant, and the sheaf of emergency orders on my desk in unrelated cases that typically accumulate during a lengthy trial.

But Cheryl begged; she practically yanked my bleeding heart right out of my chest. She explained that she was a hospice social worker for Thomas, 77, who had recently been discharged from the medical center hospice unit so he could die at home. He was conscious and lucid but likely to die at any moment. He could no longer talk and communicated entirely though hand squeezes.

His dying wish was to marry Donna, his life partner of 38 years. She was 57. They had talked about marriage over the years but had never gotten around to a wedding. They had even gone so far as to fill out the application from the downtown wedding license center.

Their wedding was performed, with the judge officiating over the phone, witnessed by the hospice chaplain and arranged by the dedicated hospice social worker, Cheryl. The groom died later that evening.

Special Holiday Offers from HFA

2011-10-25T14:14:00.013-04:00

Give the gift of sharing knowledge and support with two special offers from Hospice Foundation of America:

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Save 20%Price:
$20 $16 (Packs of 50)
$30 $24 (Packs of 100)

Winter Holidays Special Issue of Journeys!
use coupon code wh2011
Offer Expires: December 10, 2011

This new, expanded special edition of Journeys provides additional support to your clients during the holidays. The new, 6-page Winter Holidays Special Issue is packaged in quantities of 50 and 100.

Interesting and informative articles include:

The 3 C's of Coping
Holiday Survival Strategies
Old and New Rituals for the Holiday Season
Question and Answer Section
A personal story of grief during the holidays

Don't miss this opportunity to support your clients with the updated and expanded version of one of HFA's all-time best-selling resources. Use coupon code wh2011 when placing your order.

Click here to order now. Orders of 100 will also receive a free mp3 download of HFA's "Grief, Holidays, and Family Dynamics" webinar. One continuing education credit is available for a range of professions.

Save 15%Price:$100 $85

Living with Grief® "Spirituality and End-of-Life Care"
use coupon code HYSP
Offer Expires: December 31, 2011

Available on DVD, this 2.5 hour program discusses the differences and relationship between spirituality and religion, while exploring spirituality during illness, death and grief; spiritual assessment and empowerment, and life review. Best of all, you can schedule this program when it best suits your audience (staff, faith leaders, community at large).

Continuing education credit is available for social workers, nurses, counselors and more. For more information see www.hospicefoundation.org/educate.

To receive the discount, use the code: HYSP.

Discount Instructions: Simply go to our registration site https://register.hospicefoundation.org/, select the Spirituality DVD program, and enter your discount code at checkout.

Help HFA Shape the Next Living with Grief® Program

2011-10-24T12:26:00.002-04:00

CALL for CASES:

We're looking for interesting dilemmas for possible inclusion in the next Living with Grief^® program, "End-of-Life Ethics."

Cases that have gone to an Ethics Committee would certainly be of interest; however, we'd also like to hear about issues that didn't rise to the level of an Ethics Committee review but were perplexing all the same. If you have a case from which there is something to be noted or learned by your professional colleagues please let us know! Email us: permissions@hospicefoundation.org.

Become an HFA Partner!

2011-10-19T10:49:00.009-04:00

Get Recognized and List Your Organization Today! Hospice Foundation of America will include a special Recognition Section in our annual printed Program Guide, for organizations that support HFA and HFA's educational programs. Become an HFA Partner for only $100.
The End-of-Life Ethics educational program will be available for a year after its start date, increasing the number of times the Program Guide will be distributed, and the number of times that your organizational listing will be displayed. HFA’s 2012 program will be available via DVD only, beginning April 19, 2012.

An organizational listing is a great opportunity to get your organization recognized for a full year!

You can list your organization name, address, phone number, website, and a brief listing (25 words) of the services that you provide.

HFA’s Program Guide will be distributed to over 45,000+ professionals, nationwide – including physicians, nurses, social workers, clergy, care givers, and more.

Learn more now, or view the 2011 Program to see how your listing will appear.
To become an HFA Partner and list your organization, please e-mail kbaker@hospicefoundation.org or return this form to HFA. The deadline to submit is January 13, 2012.

End-of-Life Ethics
available beginning April 19, 2012

Available only on DVD, the program examines, using a case study approach, the ethical issues and dilemmas that emerge at the end-of-life. 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, culture, 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 influence staff – affecting morale and turnover consequently directly influencing patient care as well as families struggling with grief. This program explores ethical dilemmas that are likely to arise at the end-of-life, the principles of ethical decision-making and the effects of these decisions on staff and families. Case studies will be used to illustrate ethical issues that will be addressed by the program panel.

On Total Pain

2011-10-11T13:44:00.003-04:00

On September 29 and October 6, Phil Carpenter, HFA Program Officer and Bereavement Specialist, led educational sessions for The Washington Home and Community Hospices.

He and Dr. Cindy Williams co-presented an hour-long session both days on the topic of Total Pain, which seeks to assess and treat pain as it is experienced physically, psychologically, socially and spiritually. And, more specifically, the presenters focused on how each discipline plays a role in the management of this pain.

The audience for these sessions consisted of 65-70 general office staff and clinical hospice workers.

Later in the day Phil led a one-hour workshop dealing with Spiritual Pain and Religious Pain, examining the similarities and differences. Using a case-study approach these smaller groups of 10 – 15 social workers, chaplains, bereavement counselors, and nurses gained an understanding of the definitions of Spiritual Pain and Religious Pain.

With this new information, the groups discussed how these issues affect the patients and families in their care, and how hospice professionals can ask questions and create an open and safe environment for discussion of these concerns.

If your organization is ever in need of a speaker or panelist, please contact HFA to see how we can help.

Celebrate World Hospice and Palliative Care Day

2011-10-07T14:30:00.003-04:00

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is Saturday, October 8th. The theme for World Day 2011 is "many diseases, many lives, many voices - palliative care for non-communicable conditions". The theme will focus on how people living with conditions which are not infectious can benefit from palliative care. Non-communicable diseases (NCDs), which include cardiovascular diseases, cancers, chronic respiratory conditions and diabetes, make up 60% of death worldwide. The majority of these deaths occur in low and middle income countries, where palliative care is often not available.

World Hospice and Palliative Care Day is a unified day of action to celebrate and support hospice and palliative care around the world.

For more information, go to www.worldday.org

Beyond Kübler-Ross Companion Book

2011-10-06T10:52:00.002-04:00

Beyond Kübler-Ross: New Perspectives on Death, Dying and GriefHospice Foundation of America

Edited by Kenneth J. Doka & Amy S. Tucci

Order Today (order box of 20 here)

About the Book

Beyond Kübler-Ross: New Perspectives on Death, Dying and Grief looks closely at the pioneering legacy of the work of Kübler-Ross and discusses how professional understanding of dying and grief has progressed and developed. Readers will find spirited discourse on the most current issues surrounding the question of how people grieve and how professionals can best support them, in chapters and tools that will augment and even challenge their work.

From the Book

Like any important theorist who preceded us, Elisabeth Kübler-Ross helped advance our thinking in this field and sparked important efforts to find good in those who are coping with dying and in ourselves. She offered us constructive lessons; it is our responsibility to appreciate both the strengths and the limitations of what she wrote. That will not be accomplished by merely freezing our understandings of her work in an often simplistic reading of a theoretical model set forth in 1969. Turning to the future, we have opportunities to move forward in our thinking about coping with dying and helping those who are coping with dying.

--Charles A. Corr, Strengths and Limitations of the Stage Theory Proposed by Elisabeth Kübler-RossOrder Today (order box of 20 here)

HFA's Fall Educational Program Beyond Kübler-Ross: New Perspectives on Death, Dying, and Grief (available beginning November 10, 2011) Register Now

(available beginning November 10, 2011)