HFA's E-Newsletter - May 2012

Volume 12, Issue 5

In this issue:

Dear E-News Subscriber
Focus on: Grief on Special Days
Register Now - Grieving Children: How You Can Help
End-of-Life Ethics, At Home or In Your Community
Self-Study Available for Spirituality and End-of-Life Care
End-of-Life Ethics: A Case Study Approach
What's New @ HFA's Hospice and Caregiving Blog
Upcoming Conferences

Dear E-News Subscriber:

On October 3, Hospice Foundation of America will look closely at the issue of the use of Artificial Nutrition and Hydration at the End of Life, with a live, interactive web event including experts, patients, families, and you - our audience.

We are especially pleased to announce our program panel: Karen Bullock, PhD, LCSW, professor of social work at North Carolina State University; Kenneth Doka, PhD, MDiv, Senior Consultant to HFA and professor at the Graduate School of the College of New Rochelle; JoAnne Reifsnyder, PhD, APRN, Chief Nursing Officer for Genesis HealthCare, LLC, and immediate past president of the Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association Board of Directors; and Joan Teno, MD, MS, Professor of Health Services Policy and Practice and Associate Director of the Center for Gerontology and Health Care Research at Brown Medical School. Our New Perspectives panel will discuss the complexities of ANH, its benefits and burdens. In addition, they will address, and take questions from, program participants about the need for good communication with families, patients, and staff who may not always grasp the clinical, ethical, legal, cultural and spiritual aspects of this medical treatment.

Please consider joining for this important New Perspectives discussion. Registration will available on HFA's website and open by June 1. If you participated in HFA's recent End-of-Life Ethics program, the fall program is a perfect companion to that learning experience.

Amy Tucci, President and CEO

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Focus on: Grief on Special Days

The spring brings many days set aside to celebrate special people-mother's day, graduations, father's day. Yet for those who are grieving, these days may just serve to remind them of their loss. It may be an adult dealing with the recent loss of her elderly mother, someone who had literally been a part of her life since the beginning. It may be a mother grieving the recent death of her child. This sentiment, expressed by someone in grief, may speak to many: "I wish they didn't print these days on the calendar; then we could just ignore them!"

But these days do exist, and it can be important for those who are grieving to think about ways to cope with these days. Some people choose to change their routine, if they are not ready to be among others who are in a more celebratory mode. Others may choose to recognize the person with a visit to the graveside or a donation to that person's favorite charity. As with most grieving situations, the central lesson remains clear-each person grieves differently and needs to find what works for him or her. Professionals can help grievers understand that different people do different things to cope with the challenges that arise from these special days, but we can all be proactive in deciding how to go on with our lives.

Helping children cope with grief on these days can be a special challenge. Dr. Kenneth Doka, Senior Bereavement Consultant for HFA, reminds professionals that certain activities, such as Mother's or Father's Day projects, can accentuate a sense of loss, and has this recommendation:

A teacher, knowing that Sally's mother had died recently, started a classroom discussion of "mothering." With her students, she created a list on the blackboard of what mothers do. Then she discussed with her students that many people in their lives who do "mothering"-parents, grandparents, godparents, aunts, uncles, sisters, brothers, and friends. The teacher reminded the class that this is a day to honor any and all who "mother" us.

Register Now - Grieving Children: How You Can Help

As hospices across the country increasingly care for patients from diverse backgrounds and cultures, the children and adolescents that are involved in these patient families present a growing complexity of grief-related needs. Learning to identify grief responses of these young ones who are losing or have lost a loved one will enable the healthcare professionals in your organization to provide the best possible care for this vulnerable group.

This program on May 9 from 1-2pm ET explores ways to assist grieving children and adolescents. Panelists include Dr. Kenneth Doka, Dr. David Crenshaw, and Pamela Gabbay. Kenneth Doka, PhD, MDiv, is the Senior Bereavement Consultant to HFA. David A. Crenshaw, PhD., ABPP, RPT-S, is Director and Founder of the Rhinebeck Child and Family Center, LLC, a private practice serving children and families but also providing training and consultation to agencies serving at-risk children. He is a registered Play Therapist Supervisor by the American Association for Play Therapy. Pamela Gabbay, MA, FT, is the Director of Mourning Star Centers and Programs at The Mourning Star Center for Grieving Children in Palm Desert, California where she works extensively with grieving children, teens and their families. She is also the Camp Director for Camp Erin - Palm Springs, a bereavement camp for children and teens.

The webinar traces the ways that attitudes and orientations toward death and grief change throughout childhood and adolescence. Special attention is placed on intervention approaches, developed from the newest theoretical models in the field that can assist individuals of different ages. This webinar is developed for a range of professionals in the field including psychologists, counselors, clergy, social workers, nurses and other healthcare workers, as well as educators, teachers and school-based personnel. Register today.

End-of-Life Ethics, At Home or In Your Community

End-of-Life Ethics is a must-see for clinicians, ethics committee members, volunteers and non-clinical staff. During the program, you will hear from those directly involved in historic legal cases like Quinlan, Cruzan and Schiavo, as well as case studies for viewers to ponder along with our expert, in-studio panel. CE certificates (three hours) are available through April, 2013. It is very easy to show the program at your location. HFA provides you with all the materials you need, including step-by-step instructions and helpful brochures and flyers to promote the site in your area. Register today and show the program at a time convenient for you.

End-of-Life Ethics is also available as a self-study program. HFA's self-study courses provide an economical and convenient way for individuals to earn continuing education hours at home and add a valuable resource to your professional library. Included with your self-study packet is a full-length DVD (approximately 2.5 hours), companion book, program guide (with program information), and detailed instructions. Continuing education credits (3 hours) are included in the cost of your registration.

Self-Study Available for Spirituality and End-of-Life Care

Spirituality and End-of-Life Care is also available as a self-study program. It features interviews with hospice professionals working with patients at the end of life, as well as moving vignettes with individuals facing their own death or the death of a loved one. The program discusses the differences and relationship between spirituality and religion, while also addressing spirituality during illness, death and grief; spiritual assessment and empowerment, and life review.

End-of-Life Ethics: A Case Study Approach

End-of-Life Ethics: A Case Study Approach, HFA's newest publication, is an excellent resource for professionals, and would make an excellent book for classroom teaching. The book is written by ethicists and clinicians and provides a rich guide to ethical decision making using case studies that explore current ethical issues in depth. The book examines end-of-life ethics in innovative ways and includes chapters by physicians, ethicists, and other noted scholars. Chapters include challenging cases involving issues of surrogacy; decision making when the patient is a child or adolescent; conflict between health care professionals and family; and palliative sedation. While each case is unique, each chapter shares the perspective that ethics continue to evolve.

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 most recent postings:

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

Upcoming Conferences

Alzheimer's Disease Research Summit 2012: Path to Treatment and Prevention

This summit is hosted by the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Institute on Aging (NIA) at NIH and will culminate in recommendations focusing on research opportunities aimed at the goal of preventing and effectively treating Alzheimer's disease by 2025. It will be held May 14-15 in the Natcher Auditorium of the NIH Campus in Bethesda, MD and is viewable on webcast. The agenda is available online.

This newsletter is sent to over 8,000 subscribers 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. 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
Amy Tucci, President and CEO
http://www.hospicefoundation.org
© Hospice Foundation of America 2012

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