LIFEline
Updates
from the Kansas LIFE Project
March, 2003
LIFE PROJECT
PAIN MANAGEMENT GROUP FOCUSES ON COLLABORATION
LIFE
Project Partners working together to promote statement that “Every Kansan
should expect good pain management!”
The LIFE Project Pain Management Task Group met on March 28 at the American Cancer Society in Topeka. Focus was given to identifying the current initiatives, resources and activities that LIFE’s partners are engaged in to support improved pain management. Eighteen participants from LIFE Project Partners shared from their individual perspectives and activities.
Updates included information about:
o The nursing home quality initiative work of Kansas Foundation for Medical Care
o Upcoming focus on end-of-life care at the Federation of State Medical Boards
o Upcoming focus on end-of-life care at the American Osteopathic Workshop
o Recent KMS activity highlighting of the joint statement of the Boards of Healing Arts, Nursing and Pharmacy
o Professional and public education efforts of the American Cancer Society, KAHSA, acute care providers and pastoral caregivers
The group identified several concerns including:
o Problems created when access to pain management medications is curtailed
o The need for continuing education and information to consumers, healthcare professionals and public policy leaders
From the sharing about what is being done and what needs to be done, the
Steering Committee of the task group will now move forward in developing
strategic responses to perceived needs. The Steering Committee is
co-chaired by Bob Twillman, Kansas Pain Initiative, and Cathy Pimple,
Emporia State University. Vicki Fell and Midge Pelch, from Newman Regional
Health Center, and Connie Rundle, from the American Cancer Society, also
serve on the Steering Committee.
CLAY CENTER LEADERS REACH OUT TO FAITH COMMUNITY
March
workshop explores spirituality’s vital role in illness, dying and grief
Meadowlark Hospice and the Clay Center and Washington Caring Communities teamed up to present “Embracing the Spiritual Needs of the Dying and Those Who Love Them” on March 13. LIFE leader Steve Jeffers, Director of the Institute for Spirituality in Health at Shawnee Mission Medical Center, was the keynote speaker. More than eighty professionals attended the meeting, including members of the faith community, nurses, social workers and other healthcare professionals, and family caregivers.
According to Jeffers, medical science now recognizes that spirituality
is an important element in patients’ and families’ ability to cope with
death. During the daylong workshop, Jeffers emphasized that clergy
and professionals, involved with dying patients and their families, practice
what he calls the “Sacrament of Presence.” Being there and listening
are the two most important components caregivers, clergy, and health professionals
can offer to families in these situations. The importance of advance
care planning was also discussed.
Caring Communities
MOVING FORWARD WITH RALLYING POINTS CERTIFICATES
LIFE
Project and Caring Communities working together to assure quality care
at the end of life
The LIFE Project Caring Communities, now twenty-five strong, are sharing resources and strengthening their presence and leadership within their communities. Funding for much of the activity and action comes from the Rallying Points Certificate Program. Some of the current and upcoming activities of the Caring Communities are noted below.
· Hays Caring Community recently participated in community events tailored around their certificate “Caring Communities Model: Your Grassroots Connection.” The March 11-12 sessions included an in-depth planning meeting with facilitator Donna Bales and project council members, as well as four CNE presentations to community professionals. Over 100 nurses and healthcare professionals attended the sessions in Hays.
· Phillipsburg and Norton Caring Communities are working on fall plans to strengthen the “Every Kansan should expect good pain management!” campaign.
· Dodge City Caring Community also used their first Rallying Points certificate, on March 25-26 to provide strategic planning sessions. Liberal and Garden City Caring Communities also took part in planning. Donna Bales met for an educational and planning session in Garden City, one of LIFE’s newer Caring Communities. .
· Washington County Caring Community has selected the certificate “Caring Communities Model: Your Grassroots Connection” and will host a series of planning sessions and community presentations May 5–6. Tentative plans for this intervention include presentations to the Washington Rotary Club, Clay Center Lions Club, and the Clay Center Medical Center, as well as a strategic planning and goal setting session with the project council.
· Wichita Caring Community Council has been approved for the “Partnerships with Power: The Art and Science of Effective Engagement” certificate and has scheduled an initial planning meeting with Donna on April 25. The Wichita coalition will use this intervention for coalition planning, for community engagement events and for networking.
· Pratt and Newton Caring Communities are working with the LIFE Project to move forward with plans for strengthening pain management in their communities.
· Oskaloosa Caring Community has been awarded the “Partnerships with Power: The Art and Science of Effective Engagement” certificate and is on the calendar for an August 11-12 program which will include numerous community engagement opportunities, as well as strategic planning for the coalition and other area groups.
The LIFE Project is currently offering the following interventions, available to registered coalitions through the Rallying Points Certificate Program:
1. Strategic Planning for Action (2 interventions available - “Caring Communities Model: Your Grassroots Connection” and “Partnerships with Power: The Art and Science of Effective Engagement”
2. “Every Kansan should expect good pain management!”
3. Listening and Learning from Citizens: Developing Targeted Interventions and Strengthening Community Engagement
4. Parish Nursing, Sharing the Journey
5. Submitted for approval: Bridging Faith and Medicine: Caring for the Whole Person
Details on each of these interventions
are available from the LIFE Project. Contact Stacie Ogborn.
LIFE
PROJECT BOOK REVIEW: SHELTER FROM THE STORM
New book
by Dan Tobin and Joanne Tilden offers insight to parents of ill children
Even when a child is living with a life-threatening illness, families have to find the resources to keep moving forward. Physicians Joanne Hilden and Dan Tobin, along with author Karen Lindsey, have authored Shelter from the Storm, a book that offers support and guidance to those who are caring for children with life-threatening illnesses.
The book, which deals with the toughest of all subjects, is simply written, direct and practical. The book walks parents and families through the difficult issues of facing a child’s illness, taking control and understanding choices, coming to terms with the realities that the child and family face, preparing for the end of life and finding peace.
Hilden and Tobin
identify the myriad of tasks that families face when a child is seriously
ill and they discuss issues and offer suggestions in a gentle and down-to-earth
manner. The book offers advice to parents in dealing with the needs of
the sick child, with the needs of siblings and with their own needs.
Medical options, preparing for death and dealing with others are all addressed.
The sensitive style of the book and the practical approach to facing such
stress offers a support to families and help them reclaim some measure
of control.
2003 GOVERNOR’S CONFERENCE TO FEATURE LIFE LEADERS
JoVeta
Wescott and Bob Twillman to make presentations during annual aging symposium
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. An introduction and reception for Pamela Johnson-Betts, the new Kansas Secretary of Aging, will be held on Wednesday, May 7, from 4:45-6:30 pm.
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 titled “Assessing and Managing Pain the Older Adult” on Thursday, May 8, at 8:30 am and again at 10:15 am.
JoVeta Wescott, RN, MSHA, Manager of the Parish Nursing Program at the Center for Congregational Health Ministry at Via Christi, will present “Parish Nursing: Ministry in the Congregation Services” at 1:30 pm and 3:15 pm on Wednesday, May 7.
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.
MACKIE
REDD CD SINGLES NOW AVAILABLE
Musical
tribute highlighted at LIFE Project “Celebration Luncheon” in October
2002
Singer-Songwriter and Friend of LIFE, Mackie Redd, performed an emotional tribute to his mother at our fall conference on “The Future of End-of-Life Care” at the Wichita Hyatt. This memorable and original tune, “When the Last Leaves Fall,” is now available as a CD single exclusively through the LIFE Project for $20. Order your copy TODAY by email or by phone: (316) 263-6380, life@lifeproject.org.
This
recording is made possible by the generosity of the artist. For more
information about Mackie Redd and his music, please visit his website
at www.mackieredd.com. The LIFE Project thanks
Mackie for his generous gift and continued support.
CIRCLE
OF CAREGIVING VIDEO SERIES AVAILABLE
Caregiving
is the focus of series from Kansas Association of Area Agencies on Aging
The Circle of Caregiving, a project of the Kansas Association of Area Agencies on Aging, has announced that its four-part video series on caregiving issues is now available at no cost. The 30-minute segments were originally part of a local television broadcast, which aired on Wichita KSN Channel 3 last summer, and would be ideal for community presentations and discussion, small group discussions, and other venues. The videos look at spousal caregiving, both at home and in an institutional setting; support groups as a resource for caregivers; “sandwich generation” caregivers, sons and daughters caring for their parents while they manage their own full-time lives; and long-distance and friend caregivers. To receive your free copy of the video series, please contact Stacey Boothe, (316) 681-2144, email: ksaaaa@hotmail.com.
****UPDATES, NOTES and UPCOMING OF EVENTS****
THANK A SOCIAL WORKER TODAY!
March is National Social Work Month. The LIFE Project would like to thank all social workers who provide emotional and social services to the dying and the bereaved. Not only do they counsel dying persons and their loved ones on advance care planning, they provide essential emotional support and assist in locating healthcare and financial resources. Social workers touch a broad array of areas within end-of-life care, and it is clear that through practice, education, research and policy development social workers have the power to influence the culture of death in America.
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 10, 2003 AARP Kansas and the Wichita LIFE Project Caring Community Council will co-sponsor “Making Choices and Caring Conversations,” a free workshop to help consumers and their loved ones make good decisions about end-of-life care, from 10:00 am – 12:00 pm at Harry Hynes Memorial Hospice, 313 S. Market, Wichita. This workshop will include workbooks and a light lunch; pre-registration is required. Family members and caregivers are encouraged to attend. Call (316) 219-1789 by April 4 to reserve your spot.
April 24, 2003 Midland Hospice will present “Recognition and Management of Palliative Care Complications” with Carol Ludwig, MD, on Thursday, April 24, from 9:00-11:00 am at the Midland Education Center, 200 SW Frazier Cr., Topeka, KS. Palliative care comes at a time in life where patient and their families are looking for comfort and symptom management. Key to the success of providing quality palliative care is in the early assessment and treatment of symptoms that could lead into Palliative care complications. This workshop will provide an overview of the Assessment, Management, and Evaluation of 9 potential complications that could be seen in a Hospice/Palliative Care setting. Cost is $20. To register, please visit the Midland Hospice website at www.midlandhospice, or contact Harmony Hines, phone (785) 232-2044, ext. 311, email: hhines@midlandhospice.org.
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 26, 2003 Ronan Tynan, one of the internationally renowned “Irish Tenors,” will be a keynote speaker at “Balancing Life’s Journey: A Tool Kit for Better Living,” Saturday, April 26, 2003, at Johnson County Community College in Overland Park, KS. The event is open to the public; continuing education credit will be available to physicians, nurses, clergy, social workers, psychologists and counselors. Call (913) 469-4445 for registration details.
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. 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.
June 19-20, 2003 Midland Hospice will conduct a workshop for nurses based on the ELNEC (End-of-Life Nurses Education Consortium) curriculum. The training will be presented Thursday, June 19 from 1:00-6:00 pm and continues on Friday, June 20 from 8:00-Noon. Nine CNE hours will be provided. Please contact Harmony Hines at Midland for more details, phone (785) 232-2044, ext. 311, email: hhines@midlandhospice.org.
NOTE: If you have any announcements to add to our calendar, please forward them to Stacie Ogborn four to eight weeks in advance of the event: LIFE Project, 1901 University, Wichita, KS 67212, Fax # (316) 263-6542, or submit them by email to: stacie@lifeproject.org.
LIFE Project
1901
University - Wichita,
Kansas 67213-3325
316.263.6380
316.263.6542
fax
HELPLINE
(tollfree) 888-202-5433
888-202-LIFE
contact@lifeproject.org