LIFEline
Updates from the Kansas LIFE Project
February, 2003

CARING COMMUNITIES TO HOST PLANNING SESSIONS
LIFE Project providing expert consultation to community-based coalitions who seek to assure quality care at the end of life

LIFE Project Caring Communities, now twenty-five strong, are developing ways to creatively engage key leaders, share resources and strengthen their presence and leadership within their communities.  With underwriting from the Rallying Points Certificate Program, LIFE Project staff and numerous experts from a variety of LIFE Project Partner organizations will soon begin traveling to Caring Communities all across Kansas to conduct strategic interventions on such issues as coalition-building, pain management, and advance care planning. 

During the next two years, as interventions are planned in LIFE’s existing and newly-forming Caring Communities, events will be posted under the LIFEline calendar of events.  In the near future, LIFE will facilitate March planning meetings in northwest and southwest Kansas, with leaders from Hays, Phillipsburg, Dodge City, Liberal and Garden City Caring Communities.  Details are being finalized, and notification has been sent to the key leaders in all of the Caring Communities for the following activities:

*  The Hays Caring Community has been approved for the “Caring Communities Model:  Your Grassroots Connection” certificate.  Hays and Phillipsburg are taking advantage of this Rallying Points certificate.  Tentative plans for this intervention include:

  • March 11 – afternoon coalition planning session in Hays
  • March 12 – three short “brown bag luncheon” nursing CNE sessions on end-of-life issues in Hays
  • March 12 – a two-hour afternoon nursing CNE session in Hays
  • March 13 – a coalition planning session in Phillipsburg

*  The Dodge City Caring Community has also been awarded a “Caring Communities Model:  Your Grassroots Connection” certificate.  Three communities in the area, Dodge City, Liberal and Garden City, are actively engaged to take advantage of this certificate.  Events have been re-scheduled due to weather and will include:

  • March 25 – afternoon coalition planning session in Dodge City
  • March 26 – morning coalition-building session in Garden City

Other Caring Communities have also applied for Rallying Points certificates, including Washington, Wichita and Oskaloosa.  Call the LIFE Project office for meeting details.

 

LIFE PROJECT PAIN MANAGEMENT TASK GROUP TO MEET
Project Partners are invited to participate in work group to aggressively pursue excellence in pain management for all Kansans

            The newly created LIFE Project Pain Management Task Group will meet on Friday, March 28 from 10:00-Noon at the American Cancer Society, 1315 SW Arrowhead Road in Topeka.  All LIFE Project Partners who have a stake in statewide efforts to improve pain management are encouraged to send representation to this meeting.  

The LIFE Project acknowledges the past efforts of our Project Partners to help to raise the visibility of issues of pain management, to encourage improved pain management and to encourage the citizens of our state to expect good pain management.  The work of the task group will be to find ways to most efficiently and effectively meet our goal of improved pain management, to keep key stakeholders and project partners aware of one another’s efforts, and to plan and coordinate ongoing efforts to improve pain management statewide. 

A Steering Committee has already been named and met in January.  Bob Twillman, Kansas Pain Initiative and KU Pain Management Specialist, and Cathy Pimple, Assistant Professor, Emporia State University, will serve as co-chairs.  Others who will serve on the Steering Committee include:

            Vicki Fell, Program Director, Hand in Hand Homecare and Hospice, Emporia

            Midge Pelch, RN, Hand in Hand Homecare and Hospice, Emporia

            Connie Rundle, American Cancer Society – Heartland Division, Topeka

            Mary Flott, RPh, Newman Regional Health, Emporia

            If you would like to join the work of this group or would like more information, please contact Donna Bales at donna@lifeproject.org.  All are welcome! 

           

LIFE PROJECT PHYSICIAN LEADER INTERVIEWED FOR LAWRENCE BROADCAST
Dr. Ann Allegre, Medical Director of Kansas City Hospice, makes appearance on Lawrence Community Access Television ethics series

            End-of-life issues were highlighted in a two-part interview with Dr. Ann Allegre, which aired February 19 & 26 on Lawrence Community Access Television.  Fr. Vince Krische, St. Lawrence Catholic Campus Center, conducted the two 30-minute interviews, which focused on the benefits and burdens of medical interventions, nutrition and hydration issues, and withdrawing life support.  The LIFE Project hopes to obtain copies of the broadcast for possible utilization in other communities.

 

PUBLIC POLICY TASK GROUP UPDATES
Committee continues with plans to create educational consumer piece on advance care planning

            The LIFE Project Public Policy Task Group met in Topeka at the Kansas Medical Society on January 30.  Donna Bales gave an overview of Last Acts state-by-state report card, “Means to a Better End:  A Report on Dying in America Today.”

            Dr. Kerri Parsons, K-State Research & Extension Services, will meet with other interested members of the Public Policy Task Group to plan further about the creation and distribution of a consumer fact sheet and a leader’s guide on advance care planning.  Carolyn Harrison and Patresa Ebersole, Kansas Health Ethics, and Don Reynolds, Midwest Bioethics Center, will work with Kerri. 

The immediate task of the group is to assimilate consumer materials that are currently being used by agencies in the state.  LIFE Project Partners are asked to mail one copy of any advance care planning materials that they currently use for consumers to the LIFE Project office, 1901 University, Wichita, KS  67213. 

The meeting will be held on Monday, March 24 at 10:00 am at K-State in Manhattan.  If you have information pertinent to this issue or would like to participate in the work of this group, please contact Donna Bales at the LIFE Project (donna@lifeproject.org).  

 

HOSPICE LEADER RECEIVES “HEART OF HEALTHCARE” AWARD
Steve Pontoski, RN, honored for personal contributions to hospice nursing

            The University of Kansas School of Nursing has announced the winners of its annual “Heart of Healthcare” award.  Among the recipients of this prestigious honor was Steve Pontonoski, RN, hospice supervisor at Stormont-Vail Health Care in Topeka.   Steve, who has worked in hospice care for the past ten years, was recognized for his accomplishments and distinguished gifts of care to patients and their families.  The ten “Heart of Healthcare” winners and other nominees were honored at a banquet at the Westin Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, MO, on November 1.  Congratulations, Steve!

 

****UPDATES, NOTES and UPCOMING OF EVENTS****
A Calendar of Activities, Meetings and Events focused on improving life for Kansans nearing the end of life          

March 4, 2003       The LIFE Project Board of Directors will meet at the home of Emily Taylor, 2117 Riviera Drive, Lawrence, KS, from 3:00-5:00 pm.

March 5, 2003            The Association of Kansas Hospices will hold a meeting for members on Wednesday, March 5, 2003, from 10:00-3:00 at Midland Hospice Education Center, 200 SW Frazier Cr., Topeka.  Lunch will be served.  Please RSVP to June Miller at the LIFE Project, june@lifeproject.org, (316) 263-6380.

March 11-12, 2003           Hays Caring Community will host various community activities, including a coalition-planning session and nursing CNE sessions on end-of-life care.  All events will be facilitated by Donna Bales.  For more information, please contact the LIFE Project or Wanda Koerner, Hays Home Health & Hospice Center, email, wkoerner@haysmed.com, phone, 785-623-6200. 

March 13, 2003     Clay Center & Washington County Caring Communities will host “Embracing the Spiritual Needs of the Dying & Those Who Love Them” on Thursday, March 13 from 8:30 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.  The meeting will take place at the Family Life Center, United Methodist Church, 921 5th St., Clay Center.  Steve Jeffers, PhD, LIFE Project Partner and director of The Institute for Spirituality in Health at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, will present.  Cost is $15 per person.  This workshop is being underwritten by Meadowlark Hospice.  Call them at 785-632-2225 for registration details.

March 15, 2003     A Family & Community Education Fair will be held from 9:00-3:00 on Saturday, March 15 at the Sedgwick County Extension Office, 21st Street North & Ridge Road in northwest Wichita.  The Wichita LIFE Project Community Council will distribute LIFE Project materials during the health fair.  For more information, please contact Judy Beat, (316) 722-6694 or Lou Herndon, (316) 722-3047.  (The LIFE Project extends a special “thank you” to Marilyn Wasinger for volunteering to staff the booth!)

March 24, 2003          “Different Strokes:  A Look at Cerebrovascular Disease,” part of the “Chronic Illness:  Acute Answers” series produced by KMUW Wichita and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.  Carla Eckels, Producer (Radio call-in, 2:00 pm on KMUW FM 89). 

                                Note about this series:  People who are making health care decisions for themselves and their loved ones seek out information and want a credible, trusted place to find answers.  To address this, KMUW-FM and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita (KUSM-W), have joined forces to produce a series of community discussions, public radio news feature reports and call-in programs, and cable television programs.  The project, Chronic Illness, Acute Answers, will serve as a clearinghouse by exploring 12 topics on issues related to chronic illness, prevention and treatment, Alzheimer’s Disease, advance care planning and more.  Each one-hour program will air five times.  For a complete listing of topics, go to www.kmuw.org/stories/chronicillness/index.html.

March 24, 2003     Members of the Public Policy Task Group will meet in Manhattan at 10:00 am in Room 119-G of KSU’s Justin Hall to discuss creation and distribution of a consumer fact sheet on advance care planning.   If you are interested in participating on this sub-committee, please contact Kerri Parsons at (785) 532-5773, or by email at kparsons@oznet.ksu.edu for more details.

March 25, 2003     A coalition planning session will be hosted by the Dodge City Caring Community from 1:00-5:00 pm.  Location T/B/A.  Contact Julie Pinkerton at Hospice of the Prairie for meeting details, email, juliepinkerton@sbcglobal.net, phone, (620) 227-7209.

March 26, 2003     The newly formed Garden City Caring Community will hold an informational meeting for professionals and community members on Wednesday, March 26 from 9:00-Noon at St. Catherine’s Hospital, 410 E. Walnut – Lower Level, Classroom 1, Garden City.  Donna Bales will facilitate. 

March 28, 2003     The LIFE Project Pain Management Task Group will meet from 10:00-Noon at the American Cancer Society, 1315 SW Arrowhead Rd., Topeka, KS.  If you are interested in participating in this new committee or for a copy of the agenda, please contact Donna Bales at the LIFE Project, email, donna@lifeproject.org, phone, (316) 263-6380.

March 29, 2003          *  The Theatre Department at Washburn University in Topeka will present a staged reading of the play “Vesta” at 2:00 pm on March 29.  “Vesta,” a stage play by Bryan Harnetiaux, of Spokane, WA, is an intimate, 90-minute drama that examines with humor and warmth an ordinary family’s struggle with end-of-life issues.  According to Life's End Institute, the exclusive licensor for the play, the stage production is an excellent way to generate a dialogue on end-of-life issues in your community.  “Art holds up the mirror to life, and allows us to safely explore fundamental questions and our emotional response to them. Theater is an ideal art form for promoting community discourse.”  For more information about the Washburn production, please contact Dr. Deborah Altus, (785) 231-1010, deborah.altus@washburn.edu.

April 8, 2003               The National Kidney Foundation of Kansas & Western Missouri will host a one-day continuing education workshop on “Ethical Issues in Renal Practice:  End-of-Life Planning and Chronic Kidney Disease” at St. Joseph Health Center in Kansas City, MO.  Individual sessions will include discussion on the ethical principles for end-of-life decision-making, as well as the importance of advance care planning.  Chris Cruzan-White is a featured presenter.  Cost is $65.  Contact Susan Knapp at (800) 444-8113 for a registration brochure.

April 25, 2003 “Cancer Prevention and Treatment,” part of the “Chronic Illness:  Acute Answers” series produced by KMUW Wichita and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.  Sam Hendren, Producer (Radio call-in, 2:00 pm on KMUW FM 89).  Visit www.kmuw.org/stories/chronicillness/index.html for more information.

April 30, 2003 Hospice Foundation of America presents the Tenth Annual Living With Grief Teleconference, moderated by Cokie Roberts.  “Dealing with Public Tragedy” will be presented from 12:30-3:00 pm (CST) live via satellite.  Nadine Reimer-Penner, ACSW, LSCSW, Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice in Wichita, will serve on the panel of experts.  For registration details and a complete list of host sites in Kansas visit www.hospicefoundation.org.

May 2, 2003   “Dealing with Alzeimer’s and Other Dementias,” part of the “Chronic Illness:  Acute Answers” series produced by KMUW Wichita and the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Wichita.  Sam Hendren, Producer (Radio call-in, 2:00 pm on KMUW FM 89).  Visit www.kmuw.org/stories/chronicillness/index.html for more information.

May 7-8, 2003     The Governor’s Conference on Aging will be held May 7-8, 2003, at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Topeka.  This year’s theme is “Celebrate Healthy Choices for a Lifetime” and will cover such topics as aging and physical health, mental wellness, long-term care planning, addictions, financial security, caregiving, advocacy, end-of-life issues, research on Alzheimer’s and other dementia care.  Dr. Bob Twillman, LIFE Project leader and co-chair of the LIFE Pain Management Task Group, Kansas Pain Initiative and KU Pain Management Specialist, will make a presentation on pain management on Thursday, May 8 at 8:30 am and again at 10:15 am.  For more information, or to register for this event, visit www.agingkansas.org, or call Chris Goodman at the Kansas Department of Revenue, (800) 432-3535.

NOTE:  If you have any announcements to add to our calendar, please forward them to Stacie Ogborn by the 10th of the month:  LIFE Project, 1901 University, Wichita, KS  67213, Fax # (316) 263-6542, or submit them by email to:  stacie@lifeproject.org.

 

 

 
     
 


LIFE Project
1901 University - Wichita, Kansas 67213-3325
www.LIFEProject.org
316.263.6380
316.263.6542 fax
HELPLINE (tollfree) 888-202-5433
888-202-LIFE
contact@lifeproject.org