HFA's E-Newsletter - February 2011

Volume 11, Issue 2

In this issue:  

Message from Amy Tucci, President and CEO

One of HFA's important roles is to provide high-quality resources for both consumers and professionals, offering the best education and information about end-of-life and hospice care. This month we have added resources for both audiences that really stand out.

HFA receives questions every week from people who want to learn more about hospice volunteering. Perhaps someone in their own family was helped by hospice, or they've experienced how hospice helped a friend. Volunteers are at the heart of many hospice programs, and HFA has developed a free video called "Time...to Help Others" that serves as a great introduction to how meaningful hospice volunteering can be.

We've also added an important webinar to our online library focusing on Veterans and End-of-Life Care. As more veterans age, it is critical to understand how military culture and service can impact people. This program honors those who have served our country, and gives real ways to support and appreciate that service. We are grateful to Deborah Grassman of the Bay Pines Veterans Affairs Medical Center, the leading authority on supporting veterans at the end of life, for her help in developing this important program.  

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Focus on: Supporting Veterans and their Families

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. 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. A number of new initiatives are available to support both veterans and their families.

--The Department of Veterans Affairs has launched a new website for caregivers of veterans. VA Caregiver Support: Caring for Those Who Care, www.caregiver.va.gov

--First Lady Michelle Obama and others have launched a new program at www.serve.gov to offer support to military families. The First Lady and others were featured on a recent Oprah broadcast (on January 27).

--TAPS, the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors, is the 24/7 tragedy assistance resource for ANYONE who has suffered the loss of a military loved one, regardless of the relationship to the deceased or the circumstance of the death.

HFA is pleased to partner with TAPS on an upcoming webinar focusing on Military Families and Disenfranchised Grief. The program, on March 24, will feature Kenneth J. Doka, Senior Consultant to HFA. The program is intended for all professional caregivers providing services to military service members, military families, survivors grieving the death of a military service member, as well as those working in the community providing care to the bereaved. All active duty military personnel, Department of Veterans Affairs personnel, and Give-An-Hour Volunteers are invited to attend free of charge; CEUs will be available for a small fee. http://www.taps.org/training.aspx?id=4973

--We Honor Veterans, www.wehonorveterans.org, is a collaboration between the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and the Department of Veterans Affairs that provides educational tools and resources to hospices and other organizations.

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It's Not Too Late to Register for Spirituality and End-of-Life Care

Available on DVD, Spirituality and End-of-Life Care can be shown according to your schedule beginning on April 13, 2011. To receive materials via mail before April 13, please register before April 1st .

Registration includes:

  • one full-length DVD (2.5 hours)
  • a detailed Site Coordinator's Manual
  • 50 printed Program Guides (with a tip & resource sheet included)
  • access to a media kit to help you publicize the event in your area
  • additional useful program materials
  • a complimentary review copy of the 2011 Spirituality and End-of-Life Care book 

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 for The Peaceful Journey End-of-Life Process program and certified 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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Professional Webinar on LGBT Community and EOL Care on April 20

Aging and death don't discriminate. Whether someone is heterosexual, gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender, everyone grows older. The Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) will host a live webinar on April 20, "Supporting the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Community through Illness, Death and Grief" This live webinar will feature Kimberly Acquaviva, PhD, MSW, of George Washington University, who will discuss the challenges faced by this community and how organizations can better serve older LGBT adults and their loved ones. Kenneth Doka, PhD, MDiv, will discuss the psychosocial issues faced by this community. Continuing Education credits are available for a wide range of professionals including nurses and social workers.

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Bonus Features for Living With Grief 2011

HFA's Bonus Package option includes:

  • Registration for Spirituality and End-of-Life Care, including all materials as outlined earlier
  • Access to three additional webinar programs, focusing on Spiritual Meaning-Making at the End of Life and Assisting Clients Coping with Spiritual Distress at the End of Life. Programs will be aired on May 11, June 8 and July 13, and archived for an entire year after the original live air dates, that will address portions of the program in greater depth (90 min each)
  • Free CE credits for professionals (for the webinar series only) for the first week after each live start date, and are only $5/participant after that date.
  • An option for your audience to speak with several panel members who will be available by telephone on April 13. Three call-in times are available for your organization to spend up to an hour with three of Hospice Foundation of America's Spirituality and End-of-Life Care panel members! Use this opportunity for your local discussion (required for CE credit), or simply use this as an opportunity to learn more from the experts, share reactions with other sites, and have your audience questions answered. Approximately 12 sites will be on each conference call. You must be registered for the program to request a slot and slots are available in the order they are requested. Preference, therefore, will be given to sites that register early. If demand exceeds available slots, HFA will consider adding additional call-in times. For more info, contact Kristen Baker, Manager of Continuing Education at kbaker@hospicefoundation.org, or contact us at 800-854-3402. Space is limited, so reserve your time today!
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The Hospice Information Center

Hospice Foundation of America (HFA)'s Hospice Information Center offers a range of online resources for families, friends and professionals. This centralized resource is funded by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) and can be found on HFA's website at http://www.hospicefoundation.org/infocenter.

Volunteers are an essential part of the hospice team, providing support to patients and families, and administrative support to hospice organizations. HFA has developed "Time...to Help Others," an engaging video that highlights the important role that volunteers play. The video includes real stories from hospice volunteers talking about what volunteering means to them, and gives some basic information for those who might be interested in sharing their time and talents with a local hospice.

The Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) has posted "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 how about veterans' military experiences impact their end-of-life experiences-and how hospice can make a difference.

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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:

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

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Upcoming Conferences and Educational Opportunities

The Social Work Hospice and Palliative Network (SWHPN) has a webinar on Wednesday, February 23, titled Understanding Sensuality, Physical Intimacy & Romance in Hospice and Palliative Care by Professor Les Gallo-Silver. And registration is now open for Innovations in Palliative Social Work: Emerging Models, Effective Strategies, a half-day conference Friday, March 25, 2011, in New York City. The conference is hosted by Wurzweiler School of Social Work - Yeshiva University and co-sponsors include the Social Work Hospice & Palliative Care Network (SWHPN), Columbia University School of Social Work, and New York University School of Social Work. Visit www.swhpn.org for details on both programs.

The University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse will hold its annual International Death, Grief and Bereavement Conference on June 6-8, 2011, focusing on Men and Grief. Conference topics will include: Spousal loss/loss of child;; bereavement-like losses (e.g. job, identity, marriage etc); Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and the war; and gender differences and/or similarities in grieving . For more information, go to www.uwlax.edu/conted/dgb

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