Vol. 8, No. 3
March 2007
In this issue…
NEWS
1. Get Palliative Care New Web Site
2. Coalition Audio conference Draws Broad Audience
3. Coalition’s National Congress Taking Shape
4. Death with Dignity Act 2006 Annual Report Released
OPPORTUNITIES
5. CAPC Call for Poster Abstracts for Strengthening Palliative Care Programs
6. AAHPM/HPNA /Call for Workshop and Concurrent Session Proposals
7. RWJF Call for Proposals for 2008 Partnerships
RESOURCES
8. New Ethics Newsletter From Catholic Health Association
READINGS
9. Patient-Centered Management of Complex Patients Can Reduce Costs
Without Shortening Lifespan
10. Patients Want, But Don't Get Spiritual Care
11. Minorities More Likely to Seek Aggressive End-of-Life Care
CONFERENCES
12. Optimizing Targeted Therapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
13. Encountering the Sacred at the End of Life
14. Discovering Sacred Horizons: Encounters that Enrich
15. Finding the Rainbows in Our Clouds
16. Accompanying the Dying
17. Developing a Continuity of Care Model to Help Children Grieve
18. Current Concepts in Palliative Care
19. Magnified and Sanctified: Jewish Ritual, Reality, Response at End of Life
20. Achieving Excellence in Care for Cancer Survivors
21. Suicide: They Die Too Young
NEWS
1. Get Palliative Care New Web Site
The Center to Advance Palliative Care has launched a new Web site to inform patients, families and the general public at large about palliative care. The site explains palliative care and offers valuable resources, information and links to helpful organizations. http://www.getpalliativecare.org
2. Coalition Audio Conference Draws Broad Audience
The Supportive Care Coalition’s educational audio conference broadcast from the quarterly Board meeting on March 14 was heard by more than 150 listeners as Board member Maria Gatto, Bon Secours Health System, presented Building a System-Wide Foundation for Palliative Care. In addition to participants from all of our member organizations, listeners also tuned in from the following organizations and health care systems: Columbia St. Mary’s, Community Mercy Health Partners, Community Network Journey Project, Duke University, Hospice and Palliative Care Charlotte Region, Humility of Mary Health Partners, Iowa Health Homecare, Langlade Memorial Hospital, Mercy Health Partners of Southwest Ohio, SCL Health System, St. John Health System, Saint Thomas Health Services, Sacred Heart Health System, Seton Family of Hospitals, The Elizabeth Hospice, and Western Maryland Health System.
3. Coalition’s National Congress Taking Shape
Save the date and pencil this in your calendar – the third National Congress of the Supportive Care Coalition, A Journey of Transformation: Expanding the Horizons of Compassionate Care, set for February 10-12, 2008 in San Antonio, Texas. Distinguished faculty includes Dan Sulmasy, OFM, MD, PhD, professor of Medicine and director of the Bioethics Institute of New York Medical College; Carol Taylor, RN, PhD, director and founding member of the Center for Clinical Bioethics, assistant professor of Nursing at Georgetown University, and senior research scholar at the Kennedy Institute of Ethics; Myles Sheehan, SJ, MD, senior associate dean, Education Program, and associate professor of Medicine/Geriatrics at Loyola University Chicago’s Stritch School of Medicine; Megan Cole, artist-in-residence at the University of Texas, actress with numerous appearances and the lead role in the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama, Wisdom of Wit; David Moller, PhD, director of the Office of Human Values in Medicine at St. Luke’s Health System, Kansas City, Missouri; Pat Franco, PhD, director of Holistic Health Education, Mission Services, Bon Secours Richmond Health System; Tina Castanares, MD, medical director of Hospice of the Gorge, family physician and coordinator of government relations La Clinica del Carino Family Health Center in Hood River, Oregon; and Karin Dufault, SP, RN, PhD, executive director of the Supportive Care Coalition. Registration materials will be available on our Web site in the coming months.
4.Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act 2006 Annual Report Released
In the recently released annual report of Oregon’s Death with Dignity Act, more participants were concerned with inadequate pain control, 48%, than in previous years, 22%. Other end-of-life concerns were loss of autonomy, 96%; declining ability to participate in activities that made life enjoyable, 96%; and loss of dignity, 76%. To view the report, http://www.oregon.gov/DHS/ph/pas/index.shtml
OPPORTUNITIES
5.Call for Poster Abstracts - Strengthening Your Palliative Care Program: A Level II Seminar for Growth & Sustainability
Submissions accepted through April 16, 2007
Sponsored by the Center to Advance Palliative Care
Poster abstract submissions are being taken for the June 21-23, 2007 CAPC seminar Strengthening Your Palliative Care Program. Submissions must be 300 words or less and recount the story of your program’s resolution of a problem or obstacle, or describe an innovation that proved successful. Acceptances will be sent out by May 4, 2007.
http://www.capc.org/support-from-capc/capc-seminars/orlando-2007/orlando-abstracts.
6.Call for Preconference Workshops and Concurrent Sessions Proposals
Abstract submissions accepted through May 1, 2007
Sponsored by Annual Assembly of American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine & Hospice and Palliative Nurses Association
The AAHPM/HPNA Annual Assembly Program Planning Committee for the January 30 - February 2, 2008 conference invites the submission of proposals for concurrent sessions (1 hour didactic sessions with Q & A) and AAHPM preconference workshops (interactive 4 hour). Topics of interest are: hospice or palliative care administrative/programmatic issues, symptom management, disease updates and advances, education, ethics, humanities, international health/public health, pediatrics, psychosocial/cultural/spiritual issues, special vulnerable populations, research methods, career/professional development, and health care delivery systems/quality. http://aahpm.confex.com/aahpm/2008/cfp.cgi
7.Call for Proposals – Robert Wood Johnson Foundation 2008 Partnerships
Proposals are being taken by Local Initiative Funding Partners (LIFP), a partnership between the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and local grant makers to fund promising, original projects to significantly improve health of vulnerable populations. Up to 14 three- and four-year grants between $200,000 and $500,000 will be available for this round of funding, which must be matched dollar-for dollar by local grant makers. Applications will be taken through July 10, 2007. www.rwjf.org
RESOURCES
8.New Ethics Newsletter From Catholic Health Association
The inaugural issue of the quarterly Health Care Ethics USA is available online from Catholic Health Association in a printer-friendly Adobe PDF format. The electronic newsletter, an ethics vehicle for the Catholic health ministry, features ethicists and those with ethics experience sharing their ideas, ethical analyses and reflections, leading practices, policies, tools, case studies and resources. There is no charge to CHA member subscribers. To view the current issue and subscribe, please visit www.chausa.org.
READINGS
9.Patient-Centered Management of Complex Patients Can Reduce Costs
Without Shortening Lifespan
In this study of 756 California patients with life-limiting diseases and co morbid conditions, half were assigned to the Patient-Centered Management (PCM) group, while the other half acted as a control under regular case management guidelines. The authors say that this study is one of the first “to quantify actual cost reductions that result from participation in this type of expanded case management program.” PCM is defined in the article as “an emerging, comprehensive patient-focused collaboration that includes end-of-life and pain management, education, provider coordination, and patient advocacy. It emphasizes the selection and coordination of services from the patient’s perspective and considers all of the patient’s circumstances.” Lead author, Dr. Latanya Sweeney, Carnegie-Mellon University, called the results “very positive,” and found that PCM patients had 38% fewer hospitalizations than the control group and 36% fewer hospital days; a 22% increase in home care and suffered fewer treatment complications, such as nausea, anemia and dehydration; 42% less use of chemotherapy than the control group because many of the PCM cancer patients chose not to receive more chemotherapy or radiation; 62% more hospice days than the regular group; overall costs were reduced by 26% and ER visits declined by 30%.
In spite of the differences in treatments between the two groups, “the life span assessment remained the same for both participating groups, indicating that PCM can deliver cost-effective care with no adverse effect on survival.”
More information is available at the Carnegie-Mellon University website,
http://privacy.cs.cmu.edu/dataprivacy/projects/complexcare/index.html
HOSPICE NEWS NETWORK February 2007
10. Patients Want, But Don't Get Spiritual Care
Research by radiation oncologist Dr. Traci Balboni showed that 88% of terminal cancer patients rated religion at least somewhat important, and nearly half, 47%, reported that their spiritual needs were minimally or not at all supported by a religious community, and 72% reported that their spiritual needs were supported minimally or not at all by the medical system. In conjunction with Dr. Balboni’s article, Dr. Betty Ferrell, clinical oncologist at California’s City of Hope National Medical Center, wrote an editorial that appeared in the same journal, offering three specific suggestions to remedy Balboni’s conclusions. The first, encouraging physicians to become skilled in making a basic assessment of spiritual needs. She recommends the FICA tool, developed by Christina Puchalski. The findings and editorial were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, 2007; 25(5): 555-560, 467-468.
11. Minorities More Likely to Seek Aggressive End-of-Life Care
African Americans and other minority patients are more likely than Caucasians to seek aggressive end-of-life treatment, often rejecting palliative care in favor of intensive life-saving measures and more “medicalized deaths,” the Washington Post reported, March 12, 2007. Although the preference for life-prolonging care varies within racial and ethnic groups and is not exclusive to minorities, African-American and Hispanic patients account for just 7.5% and 4.8% of all hospice patients, respectively—less than one-half of their representation in the general population—suggesting that the groups may be more inclined to “keep fighting” at the end of life. Meanwhile, results from an ongoing Harvard University project funded by the National Cancer Institute and involving roughly 800 terminally ill cancer patients in five states have shown that African Americans are two to three times as likely as Caucasians to seek life-prolonging care and to die in hospital ICUs. The Post notes that these gaps have sparked widespread industry debate about what constitutes a “good death” and the forces driving racial differences in end-of-life treatment decisions, with experts attributing the disparity in part to socioeconomic factors. Commenting on these trends, a University of Rochester Medical Center researcher says “there needs to be a greater realization that there are many approaches to the terminally ill patient, and that a prolongation of care may be a reasonable choice.” However, other experts, including the head of Duke University’s Institute on Care at the End of Life, say many patients suffer unnecessarily by undergoing aggressive care during their last days of life.
CONFERENCES
12. Optimizing Targeted Therapy in Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer (NSCLC)
Audio Conferences – March and April 2007
Sponsored by Medical Learning Institute
This free, one-hour educational audio conference presented by Elizabeth S. Waxman, RN, MSN, AOCN, Department of Thoracic/Head & Neck Medical Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, will be offered at several times during March and April. Participants will learn how to establish a systematic plan to effectively manage targeted therapy-related side effects and improve compliance with patients with this disease. To register, www.oncologynurseeducation.com
13. Encountering the Sacred at the End of Life
April 26-27, 2007 / Burlingame, CA
Sponsored by the Association of Professional Chaplains and National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization
This two-day symposium will explore spiritual perspectives at the end of life and will provide a rich diversity of learning experiences for spiritual care professionals. www.professionalchaplains.org
14. Discovering Sacred Horizons: Encounters that Enrich
April 28-May 2, 2007 / Burlingame, CA
Sponsored by the Association of Professional Chaplains
Participants will encounter opportunities for professional growth, skill enhancement, and be challenged by a greater definition of the profession in collaboration with other disciplines. www.professionalchaplains.org
15. Finding the Rainbows in Our Clouds: Discovering The Bridge Between
Ideas and Action in Pediatric Oncology Social Work
May 2 - 5, 2007 / Seattle, WA
Sponsored by Association of Pediatric Oncology Social Workers
Speakers will present recent advances in hope and growth, sexuality, bioethics, collaborative research, collaboration between medical teams and families, advocacy and survivorship. http://www.aposw.org/conf.htm
16. Accompanying the Dying
May 8, 2007 / Eugene, OR May 9, 2007 / Portland, OR
Sponsored by PESI Healthcare
This one-day seminar open to clinicians, clergy, counselors and case managers will share ways to provide a quality of life for dying patients and their families – blending art, science and compassion. www.pesi.com
17. Developing a Continuity of Care Model to Help Children Grieve During the
Illness and Death of a Loved One
May 7-11, 2007 / Columbus, OH
Sponsored by Ohio State Medical Center
Participants will learn how to define and implement a continuity of care model that depicts the family moving through multiple transitions, each of which are characterized by things such as uncertainty, role changes, existential concerns and tensions and emotional strain. For more information, please visit www.jamesline.com/go/children
18. Current Concepts in Palliative Care
May 10-12, 2007 / Nashville, TN
Sponsored by American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine
Current practices, clinical advancements, research updates and access to experts in the field will be offered at this conference. Additionally, legal and ethical concerns related to palliative care will be discussed. www.aahpm.org
19. Magnified and Sanctified: Jewish Ritual, Reality and Response at the End of Life
May 31, 2007 / Durham, NC
Sponsored by Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life
Explore Jewish traditions and practices around illness, death and grieving, and learn to translate that understanding into better end-of-life care. Physicians, social workers, rabbis, chaplains and scholars will lead more than 15 workshops examining Jewish perspectives on a variety of end-of-life issues. http://www.iceol.duke.edu/events/index.htm
20. Achieving Excellence in Care for Cancer Survivors
July 12-14, 2007 / Universal City, CA
Applications accepted through April 10, 2007
Two-member teams from cancer centers may apply (nurses, physicians, administrators, psychologists, social workers, chaplains, radiation therapists, and pharmacists) and others. This NCI-funded national project will prepare teams from leading
cancer care settings to enhance the quality of care for cancer survivors. www.cityofhope.org/CME/Survivorship
21. Suicide: They Die Too Young
September 7, 2007 / Chicago, IL
Sponsored by Stauros
Suicide is currently the second leading cause of death for young people ages 15-29. This one-day seminar will include speakers from over a dozen national, regional, and local organizations that deal with suicide. Topics range from awareness and prevention to coping in the wake of a completed suicide, while looking at the interplay of faith, ethnic culture, music lyrics, and education. http://www.stauros.org/conference.html
Members of Supportive Care Coalition: Pursuing Excellence in Palliative Care, with location of main administrative offices:
Ascension Health St. Louis, MO
Bon Secours Health System Marriottsville, MD
Catholic Health Association of the United States St. Louis, MO
Catholic Health Initiatives Denver, CO
Catholic Healthcare Partners Cincinnati, OH
Catholic Healthcare West San Francisco, CA
CHRISTUS Health Irving, TX
Covenant Health Systems Lexington, MA
OSF HealthCare Peoria, IL
Our Lady of Lourdes Regional Medical Center Lafayette, LA
Our Lady of the Lake Regional Medical Center Baton Rouge, LA
PeaceHealth Bellevue, WA
Provena Health Mokena, IL
Providence Health & Services Seattle, WA
Sisters of Charity of Leavenworth Health System Lenexa, KS
SSM Health Care St. Louis, MO
Trinity Health Novi, MI