LIFEline March, 2002
(Living Initiatives For End-of-Life Care)
Seats Available at Emporia ELNEC Training
· Make plans now to attend “Achieving Quality End of Life Care,” based on the nationally recognized ELNEC (End-of-Life Nurses Education Consortium) curriculum, April 19-20, in Emporia. Co-sponsored by Newman Regional Health, the Kansas Board of Nursing, and the LIFE Project, nursing participants will receive up to 10 contact hours. Registration is $70 in advance, and seating is limited. Please contact Vicki Brooks for more information, (620) 343-6800, ext. 2521, or visit the homepage LIFE Project website for a copy of the conference brochure, www.lifeproject.org.
AKH Member Meeting Well Attended
· Fifty-five members of the Association of Kansas Hospices attended a Members Meeting on Friday, March 8 at Midland Hospice in Topeka. CMS spokesperson, Susan Jesse Pennington, fielded questions from hospice providers on issues such as rural physician billing, fraud and abuse issues regarding nursing home patients, and surveyor requirements. AKH members also received updates on current public policy issues and the joint annual conference being planned with the Missouri Hospice Organization.
Topeka Physicians Receive Board Certification
· Congratulations to Drs. Aileen McCarthy and Carol Ludwig who have received certification in Hospice and Palliative Medicine by the American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. The American Board of Hospice and Palliative Medicine was formed in 1995 to establish and measure the level of knowledge, attitudes and skills required for certification of physicians practicing hospice and palliative medicine.
Dr. McCarthy is Medical Director of Midland Hospice Care in Topeka in addition to being a clinical instructor in the department of internal medicine at KU Med Center and a faculty member of the Kansas Medical Education Foundation.
Dr. Ludwig is Assistant Medical Director of Midland Hospice and has been an active partner in the LIFE Project. She attended the Twycross palliative care certification course sponsored by the LIFE Project in October 2000 and continues to share her time and talents in the public policy arena and other areas.
Kansas Humanities Council Publication Forecasts the Future
· The Winter 2002 issue of the Kansas Humanities Council newsletter, “Kansas Humanities,” features predictions from many Kansas leaders, including Donna Bales, President/CEO of the LIFE Project, on how our state will look 100 years from now. Bales predicts that “end-of-life care will, like childbirth, become more than a medical event.” In addition, she speculates that “Kansans will experience coordinated healthcare that is patient-centered and patient-driven and offers patients a wide range of choices.”
Pain Symposium to Be Held April 9 in Marysville
· The University of Kansas Rural Eastern Kansas AHEC office will sponsor a one-day seminar, “Managing Pain at the End of Life,” from 9:00-3:00 at Community Memorial Healthcare, Inc., in Marysville. Presenters Bob Twillman, PhD, and Marge Barnett, RN, MSN, OACN, from the KU Medical Center will identify the health care professional’s role in the assessment and management of pain from an interdisciplinary approach. Nurses and adult care home administrators are encouraged to attend. Cost is $40; CE’s will be provided. Please contact Mary Beth Warren for a seminar brochure: phone, (620) 235-4040, email, mwarren@pittstate.edu.
LIFE Project to Sponsor Third EPEC Training Session
· The LIFE Project will sponsor a two-day intensive EPEC (Education for Professionals on End-of-life Care) training, May 2-3, 2002, at the School of Nursing Center at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, KS. Doctor/nurse teams are encouraged to attend, and scholarships will be available again this year. If you are interested in attending, please contact June at the LIFE Project, (316) 263-6380 (email: june@lifeproject.org). Brochures will be sent by email this week. A copy of the brochure is also posted on the LIFE Project website: www.lifeproject.org.
Help Us Grow the Last Acts Movement
· Receive weekly electronic bulletins and be a part of the national end-of-life movement, join Last Acts today! A one-time free online registration is required at www.lastacts.org.
LIFE Project to Sponsor Fall Meeting on “The Future of End-of-Life Care”
· The Kansas LIFE Project Foundation will host a two-day seminar on “The Future of End-of-Life Care in Kansas,” October 22-23, 2002, at the Hyatt Regency in Wichita, Kansas. This statewide event will bring together a diverse audience of professional healthcare providers, public policymakers, consumers and other stakeholders as they undertake finding solutions to the critical end-of-life issues facing Kansans. The meeting will be underwritten, in part, by a generous grant from the United Methodist Health Ministry Fund.
Day 1 of the conference will include national keynote speakers who will address the future of end-of-life issues as they pertain to the LIFE Project’s three main objectives: professional education, public policy, and public engagement. Already confirmed to speak: Dan Tobin, MD, Director of The Life Institute/VA HealthCare Network Upstate New York at Albany, and Mary Labyak, President/Executive Director, The Hospice of the Florida Suncoast. As we look toward the future, Dr. Tobin, Ms. Labyak and other experts will provide a challenge and focus that will inform us as we continue our mission to improve end-of-life care.
Day 2 of the conference will feature half-day symposiums on issues of special interest to various LIFE Project Partners, including pain management and community engagement.
More details to come………..Mark your calendars now!
***Notes from the LIFE Project***
· March 30 has been designated “National Doctor’s Day.” The enactment of this law by President George Bush in 1990 enables the citizens of the United States to publicly show appreciation for the role of physicians in caring for the sick, advancing medical knowledge, and promoting good health. We thank the physicians in our state for their ongoing service.
UPCOMING EVENTS: For a complete listing of upcoming seminars, conferences and courses being offered on end-of-life or related issues, please visit our website at www.lifeproject.org/_news_calendar.htm.
L signifies event of LIFE Project Partner and/or LIFE Project.
April 5-7 Become an EPEC Trainer, Eldorado Hotel, Santa Fe, New Mexico, sponsored by the EPEC (Education for Physicians on End-of-Life Care) Project. Approaches to the full EPEC curriculum will be demonstrated and discussed. For a conference brochure, please call (877) 524-3732 or (312) 503-3732.
April 9 L The University of Kansas Rural Eastern Kansas Area Health Education Centers (AHEC) will present “Managing Pain at the End of Life” at Community Memorial Healthcare, Inc., in Marysville from 9:00-3:00 pm. Dr. Bob Twillman, PhD, and Marge Barnett, RN, MSN, AOCN, from the KU Med Center will present. Contact Mary Beth Warren for more information: phone, (620) 235-4040; email, mwarren@pittstate.edu.
April 9 The Topeka Regional Office of the Alzheimer’s Association will present a workshop on “End Stage Issues in Alzheimer’s Disease” from 8:30-4:00 pm at the Pozez Educational Center at Stormont-Vail in Topeka. Nursing CE’s will be provided. Call Marcene Grimes at (785) 234-2523 for program information.
April 12 L Donna Bales, President/CEO of the LIFE Project, and Melanie Simpson, RN, BA, BSN, OCN, CHPN, University of Kansas Medical Center Pain Management Resource Team, will make presentations during “Helping Patients Live While They Are Dying,” at the American Red Cross, 707 N. Main – 2nd Floor Auditorium, from 9:00 a.m. until noon. The event is co-sponsored by Kansas Health Ethics. Cost is $30 in advance, $40 at the door. Please contact the American Red Cross at (316) 268-0842 for details.
April 19-20 L Newman Regional Health and the Kansas State Board of Nursing will jointly sponsor an ELNEC (End-of-Life Nurses Education Consortium) training course. Advance registration is $70 for the course (10 CE’s provided). Please contact Vicki Brooks for additional information: (620) 343-6800, ext. 2521.
April 24 The Department of Education at Via Christi Regional Medical Center in Wichita presents “Improving Care at the End of Life: Cultural Considerations & Communications,” from 8:30 am – 3:30 pm, Holt Conference Room – 2nd Floor. Presenters: Michelle Shaheen, LSCSW, Alice Thornton-Bell, RN, MPA, Doris Kimbrell, RN, MSN. Please call (800) 362-0070 ext. 5646 for more information.
April 24 Hospice Foundation of America presents the Ninth Annual National Bereavement Teleconference, moderated by Cokie Robertso of ABC News. “Living With Grief: Loss in Later Life” will be presented from 1:30-4:00 pm (EST) live via satellite. HFA’s program will examine the needs and barriers faced by our aging population and explore ways that professionals can more effectively assist those coping with the range of losses found in later life. As of March 13, the following cities in Kansas are registered sites: Lawrence, Manhattan, Salina, Topeka, Concordia, Emporia, Pratt, Wichita, Independence, Beloit, Hutchinson, Hays, Phillipsburg, and Garden City. For a complete list of host sites visit www.hospicefoundation.org/teleconference/ks.htm.
April 30-May 1 The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life and NCPCO will sponsor “End-of-Life Care: A Timeless Model” at to the Omni Shoreham in Washington, DC. The two-day policy oriented conference will facilitate the conversation among hospice and palliative care leaders around the globe. Hospice administrators, physicians, and policymakers should attend. For information call NHPCO at (703) 533-8468 or visit their website at www.ncpco.org.
May 1-2 Governor’s Conference on Aging, Topeka, KS. LaDonna Gatlin will be the keynote speaker. Donna Bales, President/CEO of the LIFE Project, will be a featured speaker on May 1. Stay tuned for more details.
May 2-3 L EPEC (Education for Physicians in End-of-life Care) training, at the University of Kansas Medical Center in Kansas City, Kansas. Doctor/nurse teams are encouraged to attend; scholarships are available. Scheduled presenters include Sarah Taylor, MD, Ann Allegre, MD, Robert Potter, MD, Gary Doolittle, MD, Robert Haskins, MD, Robert Twillman, PhD, and Marge Barnett, RNOCN. Information will be forthcoming.
June 13-15 The 13th Annual Meeting of the American Alliance of Cancer Pain Initiatives will be held at the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. This assembly, “Moving to the Future, Learning From Our Heritage,” will focus specifically on the organizational, management, ethical, cultural, educational and policy challenges surrounding the treatment of cancer pain. Call (608) 265-4013 for more information.
* 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.