Life Quality Institute: Advancing Palliative Care
August 2009
Issue 1
Greetings!
Welcome to the first edition of Life Quality Institute's E-Newsletter. This is an exciting step for us.  We are looking forward to being your online resource for palliative care information and educational activities in Colorado.  

Palliative care is compassionate care aimed at relieving suffering and enhancing quality of life for individuals living with a life-limiting disease.  Suffering is multifaceted and is best addressed by a team of professionals including doctors, nurses, chaplains and social workers, volunteers and family members.

With the national focus on healthcare reform, now is the time to elevate awareness about palliative care.  Palliative care embodies many of the core concepts in the healthcare reform debate; effective pain management, integrated approaches to healthcare, high quality personalized care that is also cost efficient.  

Education serves as a foundation and catalyst for reform.  Life Quality Institute provides a broad range of programs designed to create a solid understanding of palliative care and foster change in the delivery of healthcare to individuals with life-limiting disease. We are honored to serve our community by providing palliative care education.

Thank you for your continued support and interest in palliative care and Life Quality Institute.
Dr. Ira Byock, Dying Well
Dr. Ira Byock
Dr. Ira Byock, author of Dying Well and The Four Things That Matter Most, is this years guest speaker at LQI's annual fall conference.

Voices of Palliative Care will be held on September 17, 2009. Dr. Byock will be discussing Dying Well: The Nature of Suffering and Nature of Opportunity Through the End of Life.

Watch for more details coming soon to your mailbox or visit Life Quality Institute for more details!
In This Issue
Voices of Palliative Care Conference
Share The Care
Caring Chatters Blog
Upcoming Events
Quick Links
Visit these recent articles on palliative care news from around the U.S.

Palliative Care Bridges the Gap Between Acute Care and Hospice
Creating Communities of Care via Share The Care
Life Quality Institute: Advancing Palliative Care
Currently in the United States, an estimated 52 million people serve as primary caregivers facing the daily challenges posed by chronic, advanced, or terminal illnesses. At a time when our healthcare systems are stressed, families are geographically scattered, technology serves to isolate and insulate, Share The CareTM is a refreshing and relational approach to caregiving. Family members, friends, colleagues, neighbors, and volunteers unite to create a community of care...a community offering time and talents to meet the diverse and varied needs of the patient and their family. Share The CareTM provides a practical approach to caregiving that results in compassionate, competent care for the patient while alleviating the overwhelming stress of the primary caregiver.
 
Life Quality Institute provides opportunities to explore the process of creating communities of care through workshops and community presentations. Contact Jane Barton at (303)398-6230 or jbarton@lifequalityinstitute.org to schedule seminars and workshops for your social, civic, community, business, and/or faith communities. Check out scheduled educational events at www.lifequalityinstitute.org.
Living (and Dying) in Community, by Jane Barton
Life Quality Institute: Advancing Palliative Care
There is nothing I enjoy more than sharing ideas, perceptions, and common concerns regarding the work we do and the lives we lead. It is truly our lived experiences that challenge our foundational beliefs and principles and cause us to reflect on what is truly important in this life. Due to the recent, highly publicized deaths in our country, I have been reflecting on the social nature of death and dying and the implications for individuals. Read More

Follow Jane on Twitter Follow Jane on Twitter and check out the blog every month for a new posting!
Upcoming Events
Life Quality Institute: Advancing Palliative Care
Voices of Palliative Care Annual Conference
Featuring Dr. Ira Byock
Dying Well: The Nature of Suffering and
the Opportunity Through the End of Life
September 17, 2009
Olinger Crown Hill, Wheat Ridge, CO
Download registration form.

Breakfast at Brookdale

Moral Distress: The Elephant in the Room
September 22, 2009 at Heritage Club Denver
RSVP: (720) 291-7917 or Lizabeth Geiser

Creating Communities of Care with the Alzheimer's Association
Creating Communities of Care via Share The CareTM is a 2 day class designed to explore a model of caregiving that reduces the demands on any one person by dispersing the responsibilities of care among a community of caring people.
October 20: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. and October 27: 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m.
RSVP: (303) 813-1669 or Vickie Mohr by October 14, 2009


For more information on any of these events, please visit www.lifequalityinstitute.org or contact Lindsay Vassar at (303) 398-6326, lvassar@lifequalityinstitute.org