LIFEline May, 2002
(Living Initiatives For End-of-Life Care)
ELNEC Training Held in Emporia
· The continuing education program, “Achieving Quality End of Life Care,” based on the End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) curriculum, was presented April 19-20 at Newman Regional Health in Emporia. The program was well received by health care professionals in attendance. Over eighty persons attended the session, and many were placed on a waiting list. The participants were from diverse areas of practice including long-term care, oncology, medical-surgical, and hospice and palliative care.
Evaluations were extremely positive. "Excellent program!" and "I enjoyed each and every hour and learned so much along the way" were frequent comments written in the program evaluation or verbally expressed to the presenters.
The program was sponsored by Newman Regional Health and the Kansas State Nurses Association. Generous support and contributions for the program were provided from the LIFE Project, Emporia State University, and Hand in Hand Hospice.
LIFE Leaders Speak at Governor’s Conference on Aging
· Donna Bales, President/CEO of the LIFE Project, presented “Living with Quality at the End of LIFE: The Importance of Consumer Engagement” to a group of nearly 100 people on May 1 at the Governor’s Conference on Aging in Topeka. Also presenting a brief discussion of the ELNEC nursing curriculum at the conference were Sandy Kuhlman of Hospice Services, Inc., Phillipsburg, Co-Chair of the LIFE Project Public Engagement Task Group, and Nadereh Nassari of Hospice Care of Douglas County, Lawrence. Mercedes Bern-Klug from the Center on Aging at the University of Kansas Medical Center, provided details of the Kansas Eldercount project currently underway. The LIFE Project had consumer resource materials available throughout the conference at a booth in the exhibition area.
Kansas Funeral Directors Learn About End of Life
· The Salina Holidome was the site for the 105th Annual Meeting of the Kansas Funeral Director’s Association, a LIFE Project Partner, May 6-8. Stacie Ogborn, LIFE Project Operations Manager, made a presentation to 60 funeral directors on “End of Life Issues” on the first day of the conference, explaining what end-of-life tools and resources are available to these community leaders.
Lawrence Caring Community Hosts LIFE Leader
· On May 6, Donna Bales met with the Lawrence Caring Community Council. The leaders of the council discussed caregiving issues, community resources and current activities focused on caregiving. The group previewed the video clip from the forthcoming PBS program, “And Thou Shalt Honor,” to air this fall. The video excerpt reel, planning guide and other promotional materials are now available through Barksdale Ballard (call or email Catherine Smith, 703-827-8771, thoushalthonor@bballard.com). Other community outreach resources are available on the program website, www.thoushalthonor.org.
End of Life Discussed in Topeka
· Donna Bales presented “End of Life Care” on May 14 to a group of healthcare professionals during the Topeka Area Continuity of Care (TACC) monthly coffee and networking session in Topeka.
LIFE Project to Sponsor Fall Meeting on “The Future of End-of-Life Care”
· The Kansas LIFE Project 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 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. Labyak’s organization is a grantee of the US Administration on Aging’s $128 million National Family Caregiver Support Program. As we look toward the future, Tobin, 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, and, in particular, meet the challenges facing Kansas caregivers.
Day 2 of the conference will feature half-day sessions on issues of special interest to various LIFE Project Partners, focusing on pain management, community engagement, and caregiving. More details to come………..Mark your calendars now!
***Notes from the LIFE Project***
· The University of Washington School of Nursing has announced that the Toolkit for Nurturing Excellence at End-of-Life (TNEEL) is now available on CD-Rom. TNEEL is an innovative, easy-to-access, teacher- and learner-friendly package of electronic tools for palliative care education. TNEEL content is presented in six modules with a focus on individual and cultural diversity, life span, family-centered care, collaboration, interdisciplinary care, setting and system of care, values and attitudes. If interested, send an email to tneel@u.washington.edu or go to: www.son.washington.edu/departments/bnhs/pain/tneel.asp.
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.
May 14 L Midland Hospice Care is presenting “Good Grief! Children Hurt Too”, an educational workshop for nurses, social workers, counselors and pastors on understanding how children grieve. The workshop will be held Tuesday, May 14, 2002, from 9-11 a.m. at the Midland Hospice Education Center, 200 SW Frazier Circle, Building A, Topeka, Kansas. CE’s for nurses have been applied for. All healthcare professionals are urged to attend. Cost of the workshop is $20.00, including refreshments. For more information, call Harmony Hines, RN at 785-232-2044, ext. 311.
May 22 Wednesday, May 22, 2002 from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. the Third Annual Center on Aging Spring Symposium, “Innovative Approaches to Managing Pain and Disability,” will be held at the Pozez Education Center, 1505 S.W. Eighth Ave. in Topeka. CE’s are available for nurses and physicians. Cost for non-KMEF (Kansas Medical Education Foundation) members is $50.00 and free to KMEF members. For more information, call 785-354-5825.
May 23 The Sedgwick County Department on Aging is holding its 3rd annual Older Americans Month Reception on May 23, from 2-4 p.m. at Botanica in Wichita. The theme for this year’s reception is “Circle of Caregiving,” and caregivers and provider agencies from the tri-county area of Sedgwick, Harvey and Butler counties will be honored. Area in-home service agencies and individual caregivers are invited to attend. Call Dorsha Kirksey at 316-383-7894 for more information.
May 26 L The Broadie Sisters are coming to Wichita over Memorial Day weekend and will sing for patients in the inpatient unit at Harry Hynes Memorial Hospital (formerly Hospice, Inc.) and for the assisted living section at the Vyne at Crestview. They will begin at 5:00 p.m. on Sunday. The three sisters grew up in Kansas, and their a capella repertoire includes hymns, popular patriotic songs and old favorites.
May 31 L Carolyn Harrison, Education Director at Kansas Health Ethics, will be presenting “Advance Directives: What Every Healthcare Worker Needs to Know,” Friday, May 31 from 9:00 a.m. until noon at Wesley Medical Center, 550 N. Hillside, Wichita. Call KHE at 316-684-1991 to register.
June 6 L “End of Life: Talk About It,” will be presented from 2:30-4:00 p.m. at the Via Christi Ridge Plaza Health Education Center, 3636 N. Ridge Rd., Wichita. This discussion of end-of-life issues, life-sustaining treatment, and advance directives will give consumers the tools to begin important conversations with family and friends about these issues. Instructor is Carolyn Harrison, Education Director, Kansas Health Ethics. To enroll, call 316-689-5700. Cost: Free.
June 11 L Karen Hawkins, RN, will present “The Healing Spirit,” from 9 a.m. to noon at Midland Hospice Education Center, 200 SW Frazier Cr. – Bldg. A, Topeka. Cost is $30. Contact Harmony Hines at (785) 232-2044, ext. 311, to register.
June 11 L Scott D. Colby, CLU, will be presenting “Insurance Fraud: Protecting the Well Elderly and Terminally Ill,” 2:00 - 4:00 p.m. at Kansas Health Ethics, 5900 E. Central, Suite 101, Wichita, Kansas. Call KHE for more information, 316-684-1991.
June 13 L “Alzheimer’s Care and Beyond…Meeting the Challenge” will be presented by Diana Casebolt-Hayes, LBSW, from 9:00 a.m. to noon at Wesley Medical Center, 550 N. Hillside, Wichita, Kansas. Call Kansas Health Ethics at 316-684-1991 for details.
June 13 “Dying is so simple. Why do we make it so hard?” by Barbara Karnes, author of the books Gone From My Sight and A Time to Live, will be presented from 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Evangel United Methodist Church, in the Family Life Center, at 227 Pennsylvania in Holton, Kansas. CE’s available. For more information call 785-364-2116.
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.
June 19-20 Last Acts is now accepting registration for their next regional conference to be held at the Westin Hotel in Seattle, WA. The conference is the fourth in an ongoing series of Last Acts regional meetings designed to draw upon local experts and involve local organizations and individuals to increase knowledge, network and advance understanding of end-of-life issues. To register for the Last Acts conference contact Diane Cohn at 312-751-0147.
June 23-24 Following the Last Acts Regional Conference, the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) will present a two-day seminar on “How to Fund Your Palliative Care Program: Practical Strategies for the Real World” at the Sheraton Seattle Hotel and Towers. In offering this curriculum, CAPC seeks to focus on the financial challenges in palliative care. Contact Ed Colon or Barbara Mastroddi at 212-201-2670 for conference 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.