HFA's E-Newsletter - May 2010
Volume 10, Issue 5
In this issue:
- Message from Amy Tucci, President and CEO
- Focus on: The Internet and Grief
- Register for HFA Webinar on the Role of Internet Support
- Past Webinars Available On-Demand
- What's New @ HFA's Hospice and Caregiving Blog
- Upcoming Conferences and Educational Opportunities
- Don't Miss Out: HFA's Spring Sale Ends May 31
Message from Amy Tucci, President and CEO
In April 2011, Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) will release its 18th Annual Living with Grief ® educational program, Spirituality at the End of Life and for the first time, HFA will offer this annual event on DVD only. This delivery system will provide host sites reliability plus flexibility and control over the time and day that they show the program. We're also making a bonus package available in 2011, offering a series of three webinars in the months following the program that will address aspects of spirituality at life's end in even greater depth.
We expect registration to open in early fall 2010 and will be announcing our panel of 2011 experts soon. If you've participated in a Living with Grief® program before, let us know what you think about our plans to bring you the program on DVD. If you've never participated in a Living With Grief program, we hope these new options will encourage you to join us.
Don't miss our upcoming webinar on Grieving Children and Adolescents: The Role of Internet Support on June 15. The webinar will take a much-needed look at technology becoming a primary outlet for grief expression and grief support. One recent example occurred this month, when University of Virginia students and others mourned the death of student Yeardley Love through more than 30,000 Facebook postings. Our webinar examines the pluses and minuses of this growing phenomenon.
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Focus On: The Internet and Grief
Many of us are "digital immigrants." During our lives we were introduced to the Internet. Children and adolescents are "digital natives," having grown up with the Internet. Through technologies such as social networking, live games, texting, and tweeting, communication and connection between young people is a completely different process. For young people, the Internet is a source of support and information, so it is natural they would turn to the Internet when they grieve.
Dr. Carla Sofka of Siena College has aptly dubbed this phenomenon "thanatechnology." A recent feature article in Newsweek explored what they called "Virtual Grief." The Bereavement Center, a program of Hospice of the Western Reserve, recently posted about Facebook and grief: "Facebook not only brings together long-lost friends, but also provides an effective outlet for grief. . . . Members who are grieving a death often use their own profile to announce the death and funeral arrangements. Many individuals post messages, videos and photos about their deceased loved one. They can also create new groups or pages devoted to the deceased or causes associated with them. Members continue to comment on their loss and talk about how much they miss their loved one. Friends comment back and show their support." Yet many clinicians have also seen potential downsides of using this technology, and are exploring issues of safety and confidentiality.
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Register for HFA's Webinar on the Role of Internet Support
It is essential that counselors, clergy, social workers, child life specialists, educators, guidance counselors, funeral director, and parents understand the advantages and disadvantages of utilizing the Internet and other technologies in grief and learn strategies for opening a dialogue with children and adolescents about the way they use the Internet as they mourn. Panelists will discuss innovative ways that programs use the Internet to encourage and support young people who are grieving. The panel will also examine the challenges in using this technology, and ideas for future research.
HFA's online webinar, Grieving Children and Adolescents: the Role of Internet Support will take place live on Tuesday, June 15 from 1p-2:30pmET. The webinar will be hosted by Kenneth Doka of the Hospice Foundation of America, and will feature panelists Carla Sofka from Siena College and Pamela Gabbay of the Mourning Star Center and National Alliance of Grieving Children. The panel will also be joined by Michelle Hernandez, who will discuss her own experience with loss as a teenager, and how she utilized the Internet as part of her journey through grief.
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Past Webinars Available On-Demand
Almost 875,000 children and adolescents have experienced the death of a parent, and over 1.8 million children are dealing with the loss of a sibling. HFA's Webinar Series discusses research and interventions to help young people dealing with these losses, as well as the myriad of other losses they may experience. The archived version HFA's most recent webinars: Bereaved Children and Adolescents: Lessons from Research and Bereavement Camps for Kids: Benefits and Challenges, are now available on-demand.
Register here. The Organization Registration Fee for the three-part series is $250, which allows access to both the live webcast and an archived online program for one year past the live webinar, with unlimited complimentary CEs (1.5 hours) available for a wide range of professions. If purchased separately, the Organization Fee is $100 per program. Individuals may register for each webinar for $35 and 1.5 hours of CE credit is included for the registered individual. To learn more about this exciting educational offering, contact HFA at 800-854-3402 or online.
HFA is grateful to the support of The Moyer Foundation for its sponsorship of this series. The Moyer Foundation offers encouragement, comfort and support to children in distress; the Foundation created and funds Camp Erin, the largest network of bereavement camps in the country for children and teens who are grieving a significant loss.
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What’s New @ HFA’s Hospice and Caregiving Blog
HFA's Hospice and Caregiving Blog gathers and disseminates information useful to professionals and consumers from a single destination. Our goals are to inform, offer support, and generate online comments about important end-of life issues. Read some of the blog's recent postings:
- Guidelines on Implanted Electronic Devices Issued
- Providing Hospice Care During Emergencies
- Testing Concurrent Hospice Treatment
- Before and After the Death, Online
Subscribe to the Hospice and Caregiving blog feed and follow HFA on Twitter.
Upcoming Conferences and Educational Opportunities
The George Washington University will host its End-of-Life Care Summer Institute 2010, "Contemporary Issues in Grief, Loss and Life Transitions" on July 22-24th. For more information, go to www.eolcsummerinstitute.com Hospice Foundation of America is pleased to serve as a sponsor for this important program. The George Washington University's four-day institute in Grief, Loss, and Life Transitions is a multi-disciplinary, interactive educational program addressing current issues and best practices in bereavement support and loss.
Open to graduate-level students, counselors, social workers, clergy, chaplains, nurses and other bereavement professionals, the curriculum presents both traditional and alternative models of grieving and adaptation. Presentations and discussion focus on loss issues facing children, military personnel, and adults at post-retirement and advanced aging, with the term "loss" delineated in various personal, social, community, and cultural contexts.
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) will host its 12th Annual National Survivors of Suicide Day on Saturday, November 20. Individuals, organizations, agencies, or schools can offer this program by organizing a local conference site. AFSP provides a 90-minute bilingual (English/Spanish) educational and healing broadcast via DVD or webcast for free. This is an opportunity to offer a high-quality program directly to community members at little or no cost. Learn how at www.afsp.org/survivorconference or email survivingsuicideloss@afsp.org
The World Congress 2nd Annual Leadership Summit on End of Life Care will focus on "Best Practices for Enhancing the Delivery of Care for Palliative and Hospice Patients" on June 24-25, 2010 in Chicago. HFA Senior Consultant Kenneth J. Doka will be speaking at the summit. Call 800-767-9499 or visit www.worldcongress.com/EOL to register or for more information.
Don't Miss Out: HFA's Spring Sale End May 31
A few more days are left to take advantage of HFA's Spring Sale.
Enjoy discounts from 15 to 65 percent off the original price for books written by experts that will enhance your resource library.
Living with Grief: When Illness is Prolonged; Caregiving and Loss: Family Needs, Professional Responses, and Living with Grief: Before and After the Death are just a few of the titles that you can choose from.
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