2012 Fall Program Panelists

Panelists Bios - Artificial Nutrition and Hydration at the End of Life

Moderated by Frank Sesno, Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University

Terry Altilio, LCSW, ACSW, is social work coordinator in the Department of Pain Medicine and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center. She is a recipient of a Mayday Pain and Society Fellowship Award and a Social Work Leadership Award from the Open Society Institute's Project on Death in America. In addition to direct clinical work, she lectures nationally and internationally on topics such as pain management, ethics, palliative care, and psychosocial aspects of end-of-life care. She lectures in the post masters End-of-Life Care Programs at New York University School of Social Work and Smith College School of Social Work, teaching pain and symptom management and ethics. She is on the editorial board of the Journal of Social Work and End-of-Life & Palliative Care and has co-authored publications on pain and symptom management, psychosocial issues in end-of-life, and caregiver advocacy. She is co-editor with Shirley Otis- Green of the inaugural Oxford Textbook of Palliative Social Work.

Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv, is a Professor of Gerontology at the Graduate School of The College of New Rochelle and Senior Consultant to the Hospice Foundation of America. A prolific author and editor, Dr. Doka serves as editor of HFA's Living with Grief^® book series, its Journeys newsletter, and numerous other books and publications. In addition, Dr. Doka has served as a panelist on HFA's Living with Grief^® teleconfer­ence programs for 18 years. Dr. Doka was elected President of the Association for Death Education and Counseling in 1993. In 1995, he was elected to the Board of Directors of the International Work Group on Dying, Death and Bereavement and served as chair from 1997-99. The Association for Death Education and Counseling presented him with an Award for Outstanding Contributions in the Field of Death Education in 1998. In 2006, Dr. Doka was grandfathered in as a Mental Health Counselor under New York's first state licensure of counselors. Dr. Doka has keynoted conferences throughout North America as well as in Europe, Asia, Australia and New Zealand, and is a frequent guest on television and radio news programs. Dr. Doka is an ordained Lutheran minister.

Rabbi Gary S. Fink, DMin, MAHL is Director of Spiritual Care at Montgomery Hospice in Rockville, MD, leading the chaplaincy staff and providing education in end-of-life issues throughout the community. He teaches in the Psychology Graduate Program at Hood College in Frederick, MD, and conducts classes in Ethics for the Florence Melton Continuing Education Program.  Rabbi Fink served as a panelist for HFA's 2011 education program on Spirituality and End-of-Life Care, and authored a chapter in the accompanying book. He was named Rabbi Emeritus of Oseh Shalom Congregation, in recognition of more than 25 years of service in the congregational ministry.  Rabbi Fink earned a Doctor of Ministry degree at the Howard University School of Divinity, concentrating in end-of-life care and counseling.  He holds a Graduate Certificate in Thanatology.

Thomas E. Finucane, MD, is Professor of Medicine at the Johns Hopkins University (JHU) School of Medicine, the JHU Bioethics Institute, and part of JHU'S Core Faculty of the Biology of Healthy Aging Program. Dr. Finucane has served as a staff physician at the Johns Hopkins and Bayview Medical Center. He was the Chair of the Ethics Committee at the Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center from 1994 to 2006.  In 1990, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2000, 2003, and 2007 he was named Teacher of the Year at the Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. He also was selected Teacher of the Year in 1995 for The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. From August of '96 through February of '97, he was a Fulbright Senior Lecturer at the Hospital Civil de Guadalajara. In addition to his work at Hopkins, he has worked as a member of the Maryland Healthcare Ethics Committee Network, and serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.  In 2010, students selected Dr. Finucane as VIP Marshall for the School of Medicine graduation. He is the author of numerous publications in peer-reviewed journals about care, ethics, and decision-making in end-of-life care and has lectured nationally and internationally. Dr. Finucane received his medical degree from the Emory University School of Medicine.

JoAnne Reifsnyder, PhD, RN, is an advanced practice nurse with nearly 30 years of experience leading initiatives to advance palliative and end of life care. She is currently the Chief Nursing Officer for Genesis HealthCare, LLC, where she is leading an interdisciplinary initiative to improve palliative and end of life care capabilities across 230 skilled nursing and long-term care facilities. Dr. Reifsnyder is the President of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Board of Directors, and currently serves on the Boards of HPNA, the Hospice Foundation of America, and LifeChoice Hospice. She is an adjunct assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, where she collaborated on the development of a palliative care minor and taught the core courses for five years.  Dr. Reifsnyder is past Chair of the New Jersey Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Ethics Committee, and she continues to teach new hospice professionals how to recognize and address ethical dilemmas during NJHPCOs annual seminar.  She is a passionate teacher, leader and change agent whose goal is to develop sustainable care approaches that are truly person-centered.

(available beginning October 3, 2012) Register Now | Program Information ____________________________________________________

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