HFA's E-Newsletter - November 2010

Volume 10, Issue 11

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In this issue:  

• Message from Amy Tucci, President and CEO
• Focus on: Promoting Hospice Care during National Hospice and Palliative Care Month
• Living With Grief 2011
• Bonus Features for the Living With Grief 2011 Program?
• Resources on Grief and the Holidays
• The Hospice Information Center
• What's New @ HFA's Hospice and Caregiving Blog
• Upcoming Conferences and Educational Opportunities 

Message from Amy Tucci, President and CEO

Over the last few weeks, HFA's staff has been busy, reaching out to many of you who have participated in our Living with Grief^®    programs over the previous 17 years. We've appreciated the input and ideas that you've given us in Washington, D.C., and look forward to working with you again on our 18th annual Living with Grief^® educational program, focusing on Spirituality and End-of-Life Care. If you haven't already done so, please read below about some new features and exciting programmatic changes. Don't forget to register early; discounted registration expires December 30.

As you know, November is National Hospice and Palliative Care Month. While HFA's goal is to promote and support the philosophy of hospice care every day, this month we give a special acknowledgement to those caring professionals who provide compassionate, patient-centered care in communities across the country. HFA is especially grateful to the Maria Shriver, the First Lady of California, for sharing her personal experiences with hospice; please read more below for information about how your organization can utilize this great resource at no charge.

Last week, HFA joined with the Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care (CACCC) in San Jose, CA to release a video that CACCC produced as part of a grant to HFA from the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Produced specifically for the Chinese-American community, this is an excellent and informative outreach tool that HFA and CACCC will make available on DVD in the next month. You can view the webcast now; details of how to watch it are available below. A second version of the video, with English subtitles, will also be available soon, as well as two public service announcements that seek to raise awareness about hospice care for this group of underserved Americans. Hospices and other healthcare and community organizations are welcome to use the webcast or DVD, as well as the public service announcements, at no charge.

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Focus on: Promoting Hospice Care during National Hospice and Palliative Care Month

In addition to participating in HFA's upcoming informational webcast, "Understanding Grief," Maria Shriver also recorded a public service announcement about hospice, which HFA is making available at no charge. Shriver, a former NBC News Correspondent, has a keen interest in the subject, and as a member of the Kennedy family, she has had more than her share of experience with grief. She has written a children's book on grief, and grief was the centerpiece of her annual Women's Conference in California in 2009. The online version of the Hospice PSA is available for download so that hospices and other end-of-life care providers can post on their own websites. Two broadcast versions (:30 and :60) also are available and can be customized (by the provider) to include local contact information. Watch the PSAs here.

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Living With Grief 2011

For the first time, HFA's Living with Grief^® educational program, Spirituality and End-of-Life Care will be distributed on DVD. Instead of asking your organization to commit to participating in one live broadcast of the program, the DVD gives you the flexibility to schedule this event at a time most convenient to your audience, and allows you the additional opportunity to repeat the program as needed throughout the year. Featuring interviews with spirituality experts, as well as with hospice patients, chaplains and clinicians, the program can be shown by registered site coordinators beginning April 13, 2011.

Spirituality and End-of-Life Care will discuss the differences and relationship between spirituality and religion, while also addressing spirituality during illness, death and grief; spiritual assessment and empowerment, and life review. The program will feature a distinguished panel of experts, including:

• Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv, Professor of Gerontology at The College of New Rochelle
• Gary S. Fink, DMin, Chaplain and Dementia Project Coordinator at Montgomery Hospice, and Adjunct Faculty at Hood College Graduate School
• Carolyn Jacobs, PhD, MSW, Dean and Elizabeth Marting Treuhaft Professor at Smith College, School for Social Work
• Betty Kramer, PhD, MSSW, Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Social Work
• Reinette Powers Murray, MSN, CNS, RN, Consultant to The Peaceful Journey-End-of-Life Process programcertified as a Train-the-Trainer for End-of-Life Nursing Education (ELNEC)
• Martha Rutland, DMin, BCC, ACPE, Director of Clinical Pastoral Education at VITAS Innovative Hospice Care 

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Bonus Features for Living With Grief 2011

New educational opportunities are included in the low cost of registering:

• An option for your audience to ask questions one of several panel members who will be available by telephone on April 13, as long as you show the program on that day.
• A Bonus Package that includes a series of monthly webinars, beginning in May 2011, allowing audiences to explore specific topics in more detail, including:
  --Leaving Legacies--Spiritual Meaning Making at the End-of-Life;
  --Reminiscence and Life Review, Dignity Enhancement Therapies, Living Eulogies and Other Meaning-Making Approaches; and
  --The Dark Night of the Soul: Assisting Clients Coping with Spiritual Distress at the End-of-Life.

These webinars will air the 2nd Wednesday of the month, and Continuing Education credits will be free for anyone participating in the live program. After the program is archived, CEs will continue to be available at the low cost of just $5 for 1.5 hours.

Many of the benefits of hosting this program are not new; they continue with the high standard of excellence that HFA programs are known for.

• HFA Brings the Experts to You! There's no need for expensive travel and many hours, or even days, away from the office.
• Low-cost CE Credits! Most boards have approved this program for awarding 3 credits to nurses, social workers, case managers, counselors, and more!
• Excellent for Community Outreach! Many host sites use the program as another opportunity to connect with their community. HFA will provide materials to help you promote this educational event.

Learn more about registration options here.

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Resources on Grief and the Holidays

For bereaved families, the upcoming months full of holiday traditions can be especially difficult. HFA has two excellent resources that can help both professionals and laypeople understand more about grief reactions during the holidays and how to provide support.

HFA's Winter Holiday Issue of Journeys, with articles written by top experts in grief and bereavement, offers warm, yet practical, advice during an especially difficult time for those suffering from loss. Order at least 25 copies between October 25 and December 15th, and save 20%.

Articles featured:

The Three C's of Coping with Grief - Dr. Kenneth Doka
Holiday Survival Strategies - Judy Tatelbaum
Holiday Memories - Rabbi Earl Grollman
Home for the Holidays - Rev. Paul Irion
The Longest Night - Elizabeth Uppman

The Winter Holiday Issue can be ordered online. While ordering online is easiest, you can also print out and mail in an order form along with your check payment.

HFA's online webinar, Grief, Holidays and Family Dynamics, features Dr. Kenneth J. Doka and Dr. Sherry Schachter offering advice and practical assistance for helping grieving persons during the holidays. The discussion focuses on how bereavement professionals and other providers can help grieving families think ahead about how their holidays may be different and difficult, and help them plan to cope more effectively. The webinar also describes programs and rituals that organizations can use to assist grieving families during the holiday season, with a special emphasis on how to help grieving children during the holidays. There is a low one-time fee that covers the program and CEs for participants; register here.

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The Hospice Information Center

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:

• Recognize Hospice this November
• Honoring Our Veterans
• National Family Caregivers Month
• Hospice in Rural America

Subscribe to the Hospice and Caregiving blog feed and follow HFA on Twitter.

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Upcoming Conferences and Educational Opportunities

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