Hospice Foundation of America E-Newsletter
May 2003
Hospice Foundation of America E-Newsletter
Volume 3, Issue 5
May 2003
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Message from David Abrams, President
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Thanks to all of you who joined us for our Tenth Anniversary National Bereavement Teleconference on April 30. "Living With Grief: Coping With Public Tragedy" was seen in over 2,000 communities. We've been pleased by the positive responses we've received; feedback from our participants is crucial in the planning of future programming. If you attended this year's program, please go to our home page at http://www.hospicefoundation.org to take a brief survey to share your input. (SURVEY PERIOD HAS ENDED.) Three respondents will be chosen to receive a free copy of our award-winning autobiographical workbook, "A Guide to Recalling and Telling Your Life Story."
We're pleased to announce that our 2004 National Bereavement Teleconference will focus on issues of loss surrounding Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders. Year after year, this topic has been high on the list of suggested subjects from our audience. We're listening, and we're looking forward to focusing in-depth on this subject that touches more of our lives everyday.
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Focus on: Alzheimer's Disease and Loss
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According to the Alzheimer's Association (http://www.alz.org), approximately 4 million Americans have Alzheimer's disease. One in 10 persons over 65 and nearly half of those over 85 have Alzheimer's. An estimated 14 million Americans will have Alzheimer's disease by the middle of this century (2050) unless a cure or prevention is found.
Loss and grief are a significant part of dealing with Alzheimer's, from diagnosis until death. In our 2004 Teleconference, we will explore the grief experience of persons in the early stages of Alzheimer's disease, as well as grief issues that are experienced by family members throughout the illness and subsequent death. Hospice can play a significant role in offering end-of-life care to persons with Alzheimer's, and we will focus on the ethical and legal issues that may emerge and how these concerns may influence grief. As in all of our teleconferences, we will provide helping strategies that may be useful in assisting both patients and their families, and the professional caregivers.
We'll use this e-newsletter to announce the date for the program, the panelists, and other information as it becomes available.
The losses and grief associated with Alzheimer's disease brings about unique and ongoing challenges. In an article written in conjunction with last year's teleconference on "Loss in Later Life", author Lin Noyes wrote about how healthcare professionals can help families face these difficult situations.
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What's New @ HFA
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Hospice Foundation of America's book Living With Grief: After Sudden Loss (1996) has been published in Chinese. The book focuses on the grief issues that occur after traumatic and sudden loss, including heart attack, strokes, and suicide. Read the Table of Contents in English.
Read an introduction about the book in Chinese. The Chinese language version must be ordered directly from the publisher.
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Site Coordinator's Corner
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Thank you again for hosting a site for our 10th annual National
Bereavement Teleconference. Your input is essential in
helping us with the planning of our future
programming. If you have not done so already, please
take a few minutes to answer our Site Coordinator
Survey. Just go to our home page at
http://www.hospicefoundation.org and follow the links
under "HFA Teleconference Surveys." (SURVEY PERIOD HAS ENDED.) Don't
forget
to give us your email address, so you can be entered
into the drawing to win a copy of our award-winning
autobiographical workbook, "A Guide to Recalling
and Telling Your Life Story."
If you have questions or concerns , please call us at 800-854-3402 or send an email to telecon@hospicefoundation.org .
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F.Y.I.
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The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life is holding its Fourth Annual Symposium "Suffer the Children: Caring for Children at the End of Life", on May 29, 2003, at Duke University, in Durham, NC. This topic was selected in response to the Institute of Medicine's recent report, "When Children Die: Improving Palliative and End-of-Life Care for Children and Their Families" (July 25, 2002). For more information and registration, go to http://www.iceol.duke.edu
May has been designated as Older Americans Month-"What We Do Makes a Difference.". Read a proclamation by President Bush.
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This newsletter is sent to more than 8,650 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.
Privacy Statement: In no case will we share e-mail addresses. Read the full text of HFA's Privacy Policy.
This newsletter is published by Hospice Foundation of America
Jack D. Gordon, Chairman
David Abrams, President http://www.hospicefoundation.org
© Hospice Foundation of America 2003
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