Hospice Foundation of America E-Newsletter
January 2003
Hospice Foundation of America E-Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 1
January 2003
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Message from David Abrams, President
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Happy New Year from all of us at HFA. Many of us make resolutions at this time-some easier to keep than others. We encourage you to make one that, while difficult, can make a real impact on your life, your loved ones, and those with whom you work. Resolve to "start the conversation" about end-of-life choices, encourage those you love to prepare Advance Directives, and explore ways that you can introduce these ideas into your community. Taking these actions will be a powerful way to foster good care at the end of life.
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Focus on: Communicating about End-of-Life Choices
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Studies show that most people have strong ideas about the ways they wish to face the end of their lives. Yet in many instances, their loved ones or their physicians do not know these choices. While conversations about end-of-life choices can be difficult to begin, it's vital to communicate about these issues before a crisis occurs. The resources below can give you some ideas on ways to "start the conversation" in your family and in your community.
Partnership for Caring has produced a booklet entitled Talking About Your Choices that introduces you and your loved ones to the issues surrounding end-of-life decision-making. Partnership for Caring also has downloadable, state-specific Advance Directive forms. www.partnershipforcaring.org - [NOTE: this site has moved to - http://www.caringinfo.org
The D.C. Bar Association sponsors a Health Care Decision-Making Program which offers workshops on advance directives like living wills and health care durable powers of attorney to community groups in the Washington, DC metro area. Attorneys volunteer their time to discuss the legal aspects of end-of-life choices and advance directives, while health care professionals discuss the medical and emotional aspects of these difficult issues. Robert Portman, Chair of the Health Law Section of the DC Bar, reports that the most rewarding element of the program has been meeting the people who participate, learning from their life experiences, and helping to ensure that their wishes will be met. To receive a sample participant packet, send an email to Mr. Portman at rportman@jenner.com
The Carolinas Center for Hospice and End of Life Care has developed Isn't It Time We Talk? How to plan for your care of the end of life--A guide to advance care planning. (This link is no longer available.) The planning guide is a step-by-step workbook designed to help individuals and families plan for the care they want at the end of life. The cover's front and back pockets were designed to hold advance directives and other forms.
The Midwest Bioethics Center offers Caring Conversations, a consumer education initiative that helps individuals and their families share meaningful conversation while making practical preparations for end-of-life decisions.
Growthhouse, an online resource, has an excellent set of links, definitions of terms, and other resources regarding end-of-life care and decision-making.
Two resources from Hospice Foundation of America can also help in paving the way for these conversations, either individually or in your community: A Guide to Recalling and Telling Your Life Story, an autobiographical tool, can stimulate discussion and conversation about one's past, which can in turn pave the way for a discussion of one's wishes for the future.
Programs such as the one run by the D.C. Bar Association are excellent examples of ways that communities can pool their resources to improve end-of-life care. Another example is "A Final Affairs Fair," outlined in this article from HFA's book, Loss in Later Life.
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What's New@HFA
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Marcia Lattanzi-Licht, co-editor of HFA's newest publication, Coping With Public Tragedy, (available Spring 2003) has written an article focusing on "Hospice: A Resource in Community Tragedies."
HFA's Clergy End-of-Life Enhancement Project, funded by the Florida Legislature, is set to begin in ten cities across Florida in February. To learn more about this inter-denominational training program for clergy, read the press release:
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Site Coordinator's Corner
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More than 700 sites have already registered for HFA's teleconference broadcast on April 30th-thanks for joining us! Once again, HFA is pleased that the Adventist Communication Network has agreed to broadcast the program live over their national network, which has more than 1,300 satellite locations. Many members of the ACN will make their facilities available to local groups who wish to host a teleconference site in their communities. To find the nearest Adventist Communication Network site and check availability, call ACN at 1-877-223-8368.
If you have questions or concerns about your registration, please call us at 800-854-3402 or send an email to telecon@hospicefoundation.org.
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This newsletter is sent to more than 8,300 subscribers on the 2nd Wednesday of every month to keep you
informed of what is happening in the fields of hospice, grief and bereavement, and
caregiving, as well as what's new at HFA. We encourage you to forward this e-newsletter to an interested colleague or
friend.
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This newsletter is published by Hospice Foundation of America
Jack D. Gordon, Chairman
David Abrams, President http://www.hospicefoundation.org
© Hospice Foundation of America 2002
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