Hospice Foundation of America E-Newsletter - January 2002
Hospice Foundation of America E-Newsletter
Volume 2, Issue 1
January 2002
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Message from David Abrams, President
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Happy New Year from all of us at HFA! We are pleased that this newsletter, which we started less than a year ago, is read by more than 6,200 people who care about issues surrounding hospice, grief, and loss. We are always interested in your comments and ideas on what you would like to see; please feel free to e-mail us at questions@hospicefoundation.org .
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Focus on: Preparing for the Future
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HFA recently received a letter to Rabbi Earl Grollman, who writes the "Practically Speaking" column for Journeys, our bereavement newsletter. The writer described her experience caring for her husband, who had suffered a severe head injury and stroke. She explained that she was unaware of a health insurance policy her husband had acquired that would have provided additional nursing support for him during this crisis. She suggested that, "your readers... should write down some of the vital information and keep it in one place. It should be available before the heat of an emergency comes into their lives."
Rabbi Grollman replied, "We need not wait for tragedy before anticipating what rational decisions will need to be made in a time of crisis." Advance planning and decision-making can make a critical difference in the lives of both patients and caregivers, either in emergency situations or when facing an end-of-life situation. Although these conversations are often difficult to have, family members and professionals agree that they are vitally important.
Hospice Foundation of America has created an Emergency Profile form that can provide necessary information and serve as a starting point for these discussions.
Caring Conversations is a consumer education initiative developed by the Midwest Bioethics Center that helps individuals and their families share meaningful conversation while making practical preparations for end-of-life decisions.
Partnership for Caring: America's Voices for the Dying provides state-specific living wills and medical powers of attorney (also called Advance Directives). NOTE: this site has been moved to Caring Connections.
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What's New@HFA
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HFA is pleased to announce that the Adventist Communication Network (ACN) will broadcast our ninth annual Living With Grief Teleconference, Living With Grief: Loss in Later Life, on April 24.
This partnership will allow even more organizations to participate by providing easy access to the satellite broadcast. The ACN satellite network has facilities in more than 1,300 communities. If your organization is interested in hosting the teleconference, but has not been able to locate access to a satellite dish, please contact the ACN Service Center at 1-877-223-8368 to locate an ACN dish in your area. Many organizations with an ACN dish will open their doors at no cost for other community members who wish to host the teleconference locally. And remember, registration for the program, support materials, and CEU opportunities through HFA cost only $25 once a satellite location has been located. HFA is grateful to the ACN for their cooperation in bringing this important, low-cost program to communities all across the U.S. HFA's Ninth Annual Teleconference has received support from Josefina G. Carbonell, Assistant Secretary for Aging, Department of Health & Human Services. Read her comments.
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Locate a Teleconference Site
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If you are an individual interested in attending the HFA Ninth Annual Teleconference broadcast in April, you can locate a site in your area.
Please be sure to contact the local site coordinator listed for information about attending the teleconference at his or her location. Some sites have limited space and a reservation must be made with the local site coordinator. Individual attendees do not need to register with Hospice Foundation of America.
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Site Coordinator's Corner
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HFA is pleased that our upcoming Teleconference has received support from Josefina G. Carbonell, Assistant Secretary for Aging, Department of Health & Human Services (see item above in "What's New" section.) If you haven't done so already, please contact your local Area Agency on Aging to let them know that you are hosting the teleconference in your community.
If you have questions or concerns about your registration, please call us at 800-854-3402 or send an email to telecon@hospicefoundation.org.
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An Additional Resource
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As a follow-up to last month's topic of Grief in the Workplace, HFA wanted you to know that the American Hospice Foundation offers a series of training publications and programs on the topic.
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This newsletter is sent to more than 6,200 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 interested 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
Jack D. Gordon, Chairman
David Abrams, President http://www.hospicefoundation.org
© Hospice Foundation of America 2001
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