|
|
|
JANUARY 2011 -- ISSUE ELEVEN
|
|
LIFE QUALITY INSTITUTE NEWS |
|
|
At year's end, I seek a balance between rejoicing in the programs completed and planning for the programs yet to come. Please accept my heartfelt thanks for your support over the past year. I am always honored and humbled to see familiar faces in the crowd while being delighted to meet new people at every program. All of YOU - the community - YOU are the reason I do what I do. YOU are also my motivation to create new and engaging programs for 2011. So, without further ado, check out the programs we have planned for 2011. Hope to see you in the New Year!
Sincerely,
Jane Barton
Director or Education
Breakfast at Brookdale: For the third year, Brookdale Senior Living will host breakfast and a presentation at various locations throughout Denver. Details of the 5 new programs for 2011 can be found on our website. We will charge a $10 registration fee/program. Discounts are available via annual passes for individuals ($40) and organizations ($120 for 3 staff members/program). It is a great way to start the day! Hope to see you there. Audience: Healthcare providers, pastoral care providers, social workers, volunteers, and community members.
Called to Care: We have planned another 6 program series for 2011 based on the fabulous response this year. Once again, Olinger Mortuaries and Cemeteries and Bethany Lutheran Church are providing needed resources to ensure the continuation of this program. We will charge a $10 registration fee/program. Discounts are available via annual passes for individuals ($48) and organizations ($144 for 3 staff members/program). We invite you to share a lovely dinner and conversation with other interested community members. Audience: Clergy, Stephen ministers, pastoral caregivers, chaplains, students, lay leaders, healthcare professionals, and community members
Prepare to Care: We are excited to announce an expanded effort to provide requested training to the more remote areas of Colorado. In October of 2010, LQI partnered with Sangre de Cristo Hospice in Canon City to offer a full day mini-conference to area healthcare providers and community members. Based on the response, we have 3 mini-conferences scheduled in Canon City for 2011 and are actively seeking other host sites throughout Colorado for similar conferences. If interested in hosting, please contact Jane W. Barton, JBarton@LifeQualityInstitute.org to discuss the possibilities.
Reality of Care: We are thrilled to announce a new series of programs hosted and sponsored by the Perinatal Palliative Care Team at Saint Joseph Hospital, Exempla Healthcare. Beginning in January 2011, we will offer a monthly program (the 4th Thursday of every month) related to the complex issues currently encountered in healthcare, highlighted by case study discussions. Staff and community members are encouraged to attend. Check our website for topic and program details.
Creating Communities of Care (Dementia Specific Model): In 2011, we will offer four dementia specific Creating Communities of Care workshops in collaboration with the Alzheimer's Association Colorado Chapter. Please check our website for program details. |
|
Save the Date: Spring Conference for Social Workers
Save the date for the for a hands-on workshop with the latest clinical practice information on key topics for social workers in palliative care and hospice. We'll be discussing Social Work in Palliative Care with Shirley Otis-Green from City of Hope National Medical Center in Duarte, California.
When: March 24th, 2011 - 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Where: Heritage Club Denver, 2020 South Monroe Street, Denver, CO 80210
Speaker: Shirley Otis-Green, MSW, LCSW, ACSW, OSW-C
Cost: $79 (includes breakfast, lunch, and a complimentary copy of the brand-new Oxford Textbook of Palliative Social Work, a $99 value alone!)
Look for more details coming soon! You don't want to miss out on this extraordinary opportunity.
Moral Distress
with Sarah Cares
A person experiences moral distress as a result of an ethical conflict in which one is constrained from doing the morally "right" thing. Within our healthcare system today, clinical, psycho-social, spiritual, and administrative professionals confront complex medical questions and concerns that give rise to moral distress. In a broader context, all those working in end-of-life professions are at risk of experiencing moral distress. Moral distress is often depicted by increased employee dissatisfaction, diminished quality of patient/family care, and elevated staff attrition rates. Therefore, it is important to distinguish moral distress from other forms of stress so that the root of the distress can be effectively addressed. The goal is not to eliminate moral distress. Rather, the goal is to recognize, confront, and transform the "elephant in the room." More Information
Breakfast at Brookdale
Taking the Pulse of Palliative Care
Palliative Care is an appealing approach to healthcare. Who could find fault with comprehensive, coordinated, compassionate care? The challenge arises when trying to implement this philosophy within the context of healthcare and insurance systems designed to support and reimburse curative practices. Please join us to discuss what must be done if palliative care is ever to be readily accessible to those who could benefit the most from this approach to healthcare. More Information
Called to Care
Belief and Grief: What is the Connection?
How does your perception of God (the Divine) shape your experience of loss? Are you angry? Sad? Confused? Do you feel abandoned? Comforted? Companioned? Do you have doubts about what you believe to be true? Grief, prompted by suffering and loss, often challenges our foundational beliefs, literally bringing us to our knees in search of help and hope. Please join us to consider and to question how our beliefs influence the grieving process. Explore how your spiritual beliefs serve to inform, shape, and influence your journey through griefas we discuss the plight of Job as well as four contemporary case studies depicting death, career, relationship, and health losses. Belief and Grief: What is the Connection? More Information
|
|
HOSPICE & PALLIATIVE MEDICINE NEWS: 2011 UPDATE |
Obama Returns to End-of-Life Plan that Caused Stir
On January 1st, President Obama signed a new regulation changing how Medicare reimburses physicians for end-of-life discussions. Despite fears of "death panels" the new regulations will allow doctors to be reimbursed by Medicare for discussing end-of-life options with patients, which may include advance directives.
The Obama administration used research from several sources including Colorado's own Dr. Stacey M. Fischer, an assistant professor from the Unviersity of Colorado School of Medcine. In her research, Dr. Fischer "found that end-of-life discussions between doctor and patient help ensure that one gets the care one wants."
"It will give people more control over the care they receive," Mr. Blumenauer, U.S. Representative from Oregon, said in an interview. "It means that doctors and patients can have these conversations in the normal course of business, as part of our health care routine, not as something put off until we are forced to do it."
The new regulation is just one step in the right direction for advance care planning-for allowing individuals to calmly consider choices and treatments options before a crisis or accelerating disease process. Of course, this has reignited the "death panel" rhetoric, but gauging from the comments posted on the New York Times article and other versions picked up by CNN, MSNB, and The Denver Post, most people understand that this just makes sense. |
|
A NOTE FROM THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS |
Palliative Care is an emerging specialty in the healthcare arena. Chronic conditions and diseases are becoming the norm in our society. We, as a country, have not thoughtfully addressed how to most effectively care for those with chronic diseases. Palliative Care is a philosophy and model of care which allows us to provide a higher level of care while lowering overall medical care cost to these individuals.
As a business man, I find the combination of the better patient experience and controlling healthcare dollars in palliative care compelling. Palliative Care is the rare instance where we can affect the care experience while controlling healthcare spending.
A Kaiser study has demonstrated the cost effectiveness of Palliative Care. Specifically, emergency room visits were decreased, hospital admissions reduced and hospital readmissions almost eliminated. In addition, due to the comprehensive and inclusive nature of Palliative Care, the patient experience received higher rankings. Another recent study documented increased longevity for patients with lung cancer that received Palliative Care.
Life Quality Institute is at the forefront of clinical Palliative Care education in Colorado. Additionally, Life Quality Institute has blazed new paths in the area of caregiver education with programs like Creating Communities of Care.
Life Quality Institute is making a difference in individual's lives, which is why I passionately continue to serve as the President of the Board of Directors for Life Quality Institute.
William Bishop
Vice President
Lockton Companies |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
