LIFE line August, 2001
(Living Initiatives For End-of-Life Care)
All LIFE Project Partners and Funders are invited to attend our annual Project Partner Meeting on Friday, October 26, at the Pozez Education Center at Stormont-Vail Hospital in Topeka. Your attendance at this meeting is important! The Kansas LIFE Project has over 50 Project Partners working together to improve end-of-life care for all Kansans. This annual meeting gives everyone an opportunity to learn more about LIFE Project initiatives and other efforts underway throughout the state.
The meeting will be held from 10:00 am – Noon. We are currently finalizing the agenda and will send more information to you soon. Please mark your calendars now!
T/B/A Plans are being made for an 8-week EPEC Tele-Conference training course to be offered in the fall of 2001 by the LIFE Project and the University of Kansas Medical Center. Stay tuned; exact dates and locations to be announced shortly.
SEPT. 6 & 11 The Friends of Hospice of Jefferson County present “Hospice Update 2001.” The two days of advanced training for medical professionals and hospice volunteers will include a lecture on Pain Management and Palliative Care given by Marge Barnett, RN, MS, AOCN, and a presentation by Carole Pocza Hull titled “Good Grief! Going in Deep, Coming Out Strong.” This training event will be held at Ozawkie Methodist Church in Ozawkie, Kansas. Please call (785) 863-2447 for more information.
SEPT. 9, 16, 23 & 30 KPTS Public Television in Wichita (channel 8) will re-air the Moyers PBS series, “On Our Own Terms” from 3:30-5:00 pm on four consecutive Sundays in September. The Wichita Caring Communities Council will staff the LIFE Project HelpLine phone bank during the re-broadcast. Consumers may call 1-888-202-LIFE toll-free with questions during the program.
SEPT. 11-12 LAST ACTS will launch the first in a series of five regional meetings beginning in September 2001. The first conference of the North/South Plains region will be September 10-12, 2001, in Denver, CO. Future meetings are tentatively scheduled as follows: November 2001 (Philadelphia, PA), February 2002 (Tampa or Orlando, FL), June 2002 (San Francisco, CA, or Seattle, WA), September 2002 (St. Louis, MO, or Chicago, IL). Registration is still open, and there is no charge.
Donna Bales will present a workshop on “Maximizing the Power of the Community” on September 12 during the Last Acts meeting.
For a copy of the conference brochure, visit the Last Acts website at www.lastacts.org/file/publications/regional meetings promo.pdf
SEPT. 10-11 As of last week, there are still a few slots available for the two-day ELNEC (End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium) train-the-trainer precourse being offered prior to the Last Acts conference. The ELNEC project is a comprehensive, national nursing education program to improve end-of-life care. Continuing education and staff development educators who are experienced in end-of-life care and provide nursing continuing education in hospitals, hospice, palliative care, long-term, home care, and other clinical settings are encouraged to attend.
For more information about the ELNEC curriculum, log on to www.aacn.nche.edu/elnec/curriculum.htm or contact Susan Taylor at (727) 588-2864 or by email: susantaylor@thehospice.org. Registrations are being accepted on a space-available basis.
SEPT. 12 The Department of Education at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita presents, “Vintage People – Caring for the Aging Adult,” Sept. 12 from 8:00 am – 3:00 pm at the St. Joseph Campus, East Complex, Conference Room A, 3rd Floor. Call (800) 362-0070 ext. 5646 for registration details.
SEPT. 13 “Focuses on Neuropathic Pain” will be the topic of the upcoming Audio Conference sponsored by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization on Sept. 13 from 2:00-3:30 pm (EST). This audio conference will provide an overview of the definition, assessment, and strategies used to treat neuropathic pain. Judith Paice, PhD, RN, FAAN, Research Professor of Medicine in the Palliative Care and Home Hospice Program at Northwestern Memorial Hospital and Northwestern University Medical School, will conduct the event. Nursing CEU’s (1.5 hours) are available. Cost is $125 for NHPCO members and $225 for non-members. To register, call 800-775-7654, Conference Code NHP6349-0. Deadline is September 5.
SEPT. 17 The Department of Education at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita presents, “No Pain – Big Gain,” Sept. 17, from 1:00 – 5:00 pm at the St. Francis Campus, Holt Conference Room, 2nd Floor. Call (800) 362-0070 ext. 5646 for registration details.
OCT. 4-5 The 2001 Midwest Regional Conference will be held Oct. 4-5 at the Kansas City Marriott Downtown. The conference, “Building Bridges to Quality End of Life Care,” is jointly sponsored by Missouri Hospice and Palliative Care Association, Association of Kansas Hospices, Missouri End-of-Life Coalition, and Medicus CME. The conference offers three plenary sessions and 30 concurrent sessions. Featured plenary speakers are: Carlos F. Gomez, MC, PhD, Assoc. Professor of Medicine, University of Virginia-Charlottesville; Darcia D. Sims, PhD, CGC, CHT, Grief, Inc.; and Nicholas A. Christakis, MD, PhD, MPH, Assoc. Professor of Medicine and Sociology, University of Chicago.
The Association of Kansas Hospices will hold its annual meeting during the conference. To request a registration packet, please contact MHPCA at (816) 350-7702, or email cindy@mohospice.org.
OCT. 4 Community Forum on Elder Abuse Prevention – Marriott Hotel, Wichita. Call Don or Dawn at (316) 685-1821 ext. 297 for more information.
OCT. 6 Make plans to attend “Journey to Life’s End: Decisions, Love, Hope” to be held Saturday, October 6, 2001, at Johnson County Community College Carlsen Center in Overland Park. This unique end-of-life symposium will feature a full day of recognized speakers and breakout sessions that will address such important issues as advance directives, organ donation, ethical dilemmas in health care, palliative care, pain and symptom management, government programs and benefits, end-of-life issues involving children, caregiving for seniors, grief preparation, and more. The keynote presenter will be national syndicated columnist and radio talk show celebrity, Mitch Albom, author of the bestseller, Tuesdays with Morrie. Also presenting: former Kansas City mayor and Sr. Pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Kansas City, Emanuel Cleaver II; and Chris Cruzan White, Executive Director of the Cruzan Foundation.
Special sessions are available for nursing continuing educations credits. Cost is $15. For more information contact the Ask-a-Nurse Resource Center at (816) 932-6220 or call Johnson County Community College at (913) 469-4445 to register by phone. The program is co-sponsored by Shawnee Mission Medical Center, Johnson County Community College, KCPT Public Television, Midwest Bioethics Center, Compassion Sabbath, and the LIFE Project.
OCT. 7-9 “Fall Forum 2001” for the Center to Advance Palliative Care will be held Oct. 7-9 at the Marriott Downtown Hotel in Chicago. Institutional teams are encouraged to attend this conference to learn more about designing a hospital-based palliative care program. Concurrent sessions will cover topics such as Hospital-Hospice Collaborations, Palliative Care in Nursing Home Settings, Developing a Compelling Business Case for Your Palliative Care Program, Applying Rapid Cycle Quality Improvement to Palliative Care Programs and more. For a conference brochure, please contact Edward Colon at (212) 241-9090 or by email at ed.colon@mssm.edu. For information on upcoming CAPC events visit their website: www.capcmssm.org.
OCT. 9 The LIFE Project will sponsor a 90-minute TeleConference on “Rapid Cycle Change” from 10:00-11:30 am (CST). Marie Schall, Collaborative Director with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement will share information on how to use rapid cycles of innovation and measurement, a method that will enable healthcare professionals to improve pain management and assessment practices in a relatively short period of time, generally within a few months. This teleconference is currently available to only the facilities participating in the LIFE Project Pain Protocol Project, however; if there is enough interest, the training event may be repeated. Contact Stacie at the Project office for more information or by email: stacie@lifeproject.org.
OCT. 9-12 Midwest Bioethics Center will hold its annual Nursing Leadership Institute at the Tall Oaks Conference Center in Linwood, Kansas, Oct. 9-12. This year’s conference, titled, “Providing Palliative Care in Chaos,” will focus on nursing ethics and end-of-life issues. Nominations are being accepted until August 25 from healthcare organizations. Nominees must be registered nurses who possess mature communications skills and some experience in caring for persons at the end of life. Please contact Melanie Simpson at Midwest Bioethics, (816) 221-1100, ext. 206, for additional information.
OCT. 12-13 Southwind Hospice, Inc., of Pratt will host an abbreviated EPEC physician training on Oct. 12 from 5:30 – 9:30 pm and on Oct. 13 from 8:00 am – 12:30 pm. Five modules from the EPEC training will be covered at this time; additional modules from the program will be held at a later date. Please contact Sharon Will at (620) 672-7553 for registration information.
OCT. 13 & 27 AARP of Kansas will host Caring Conversations workshops in Wichita. These workshops are designed to ensure that each individual’s end-of-life care can be accomplished in a supportive environment, according to Donna Travis, AARP Caring Conversations Volunteer. The first workshop will be Oct. 13 from 10:00-3:00 at Hillside Christian Church, 8330 E. Douglas. A repeat workshop will be held Oct. 27 from 10:00-3:00 at First Methodist Church, 330 N. Broadway. A notary will be on hand for those participants who want to complete Advance Directives during the workshop. The registration fee is $15 per person plus $10 for bringing along any number of “conversation partners.” (Total not to exceed $25) The fee includes a box lunch. Persons can register for the workshops beginning September 23 by calling toll-free
1-877-926-8300. Please contact the AARP state office at (785) 228-2557 for more information.
OCT. 24-25 The Fourth Annual State Parish Nurse Conference will be held at the Spiritual Life Center in Wichita. Jim Miller, nationally known author/speaker on end-of-life issues, will be presenting on Oct. 24. He will also be conducting a workshop for clergy on grief and loss issues on the 25th. This conference is sponsored by the Center for Congregational Health Ministry, Via Christi Regional Medical Center, and the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund. For a registration brochure, please contact JoVeta Wescott at (316) 689-5152.
NOV. 1 The Good Samaritan Village in Winfield has invited Dr. Bob Twillman from the University of Kansas Medical Center and the Kansas Pain Initiative to present a brief pain management lecture. The focus of his talk will be “How to Assess Pain in Cognitively Impaired Patients.” Four (4) nursing CEU’s will be offered. Please contact Connie Schaefer at (620) 221-4660 for registration information.
NOV. 7 Tom Welk of Hospice, Inc., will present “Death: The Ultimate Farewell” at Central Community Church in Wichita. Contact Tom by email: tom@hospiceinc.com, or by telephone (316) 219-1791 for details.
NOV. 14 The Department of Education at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita presents, “Caring Across Cultures,” Nov. 14, from 9:00 am – 4:00 pm at the St. Joseph Campus, Conference Room A, 3rd Floor. Speakers and topics are: Jane Wielert (Transcultural Nursing); Arneatha Martin (African American Issues); and Mary Medina (Hispanic Life and Death Perspectives). Call (800) 362-0070 ext. 5646 for registration details.
NOV. 15 The Department of Education at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita presents, “Managing Conscious Sedation,” from 1:00 – 4:00 pm at the St. Francis Campus, Room 7164, 7th Floor. Call (800) 362-0070 ext. 5646 for registration details.
NOV. 20 The Department of Education at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita presents, “Getting Through the Holidays After a Loss In Your Life,” from 2:00 – 4:00 pm at the St. Joseph Campus, East Complex, McNamara Center, 3rd Floor. Call (800) 362-0070 ext. 5646 for registration details.
DEC. 11 The Department of Education at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita presents, “Advanced Directives: Do They Provide Instructions for Direct Care?” from 9:00 – 11:00 am at the St. Joseph Campus, East Complex, Conference Room A, 3rd Floor. Call (800) 362-0070 ext. 5646 for registration details.
* 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 67212, Fax # (316) 263-6542, or submit them by email to: stacie@lifeproject.org.