Volume I Issue 6. July 31, 2009.
In This Issue
Partnership Updates:- Register Now for ELNEC at Howard University Hospital on October 22 and 29
- Save the Date! "Cancer Survivor Jubilee: Surviving & Thriving After Cancer"
- Meet Diane C. Lewis, New Board President
- Partnership Raises Awareness of Palliative Care at Community Events
News and Announcements:
- Personal Stories on the End of Life Requested for New TV Series and Website
- Health Care Reform -- Join the Conversation
- FDA Takes Actions on Pain Medications Including Propoxyphene, Acetaminophen
Health Care in the Media:
- CPR Survival Rates for Older People Unchanged
- Tomorrow's Pain Will Come Soon Enough
- Months to Live, Sisters Face Death With Dignity and Reverence
- Pet Peace of Mind: A Caring Program for Ailing Owners
Professional Education Committee
The Professional Education Committee is excited to announce that registration for its next ELNEC training -- which will take place on October 22 and 29 at Howard University Hospital -- is now open.
Join us to plan the ELNEC training at the next meeting of the Professional Education Committee on September 14 at 4:30 pm. Get involved with the Committee for more details.
Public Education Committee
Design drafts have been prepared for a brochure that the Public Education Committee is creating on the DC Comfort Care Order. Following completion of the design, the Committee will create a low-literacy version of the brochure, and translate the brochure into the languages most commonly spoken in the District.
Find out more by signing up for the Public Education Committee.
Public Policy Committee
The Public Policy Committee is finalizing its research into ways that the DC Comfort Care Order program could be made easier and more efficient. The Committee is also surveying pharmacies on access barriers to pain medications.
The next meeting of the Public Policy Committee will take place on September 10 at 3:00 pm. Join the Committee to share your thoughts on the DC Comfort Care Order and pharmacy stocking.
The Partnership is coordinating a directory of experts in palliative care who are willing to share their knowledge at speaking engagements.
Boost your CV while helping to spread the word about palliative care by joining our Speakers Bureau today!
Download the sign-up form and fax it to 202-895-9438.
Help Improve the Comfort Care Order
The Partnership has progressed in collecting feedback from healthcare professionals and community members about how the DC Comfort Care Order can made be easier for patients and families. Having heard from staff at most DC hospitals and hospice providers, we have developed preliminary findings on how to enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the Comfort Care Order.
We will be continuing to conduct interviews and solicit input on this issue throughout the summer, so that our recommendations represent the voices of as many of DC's diverse communities as possible.
We would love to hear from you.
Send us your feedback over our online feedback form for health care professionals or our online feedback form for patients and families, or call us at 202-895-9489 to schedule an interview.
About this E-Newsletter
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Partnership Updates:
Register Now for ELNEC at Howard University Hospital on October 22 and 29
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Hear from Healthcare Leaders Leaders at Howard University Hospital and VA Medical Center have worked closely with the Partnership to bring ELNEC to their facilities. Find out why they support ELNEC: Sandra Mavin, MS, RN, Director of Professional Development and Quality Management at Howard University Hospital, is instrumental in bringing ELNEC to Howard. According to Ms. Mavin, "ELNEC offers health care professionals superb up-to-date education on best practices for ensuring that patients and families confronted with potentially sensitive and stressful end-of-life situations are as comfortable as possible, including the careful attention to communications and cultural competencies necessary for working effectively with Washington DC’s diverse residents." As Nurse Planner for the Continuing Nursing Education Provider Unit, she is "pleased to host ELNEC at Howard University Hospital to demonstrate our leadership and commitment to improving quality care for seriously ill patients." Kathleen Bixby, RN, OCN, BSN, Co-Director of the Hospice & Palliative Care Program at VA Medical Center, initiated the Partnership's first highly successful and well-attended ELNEC training. She praises ELNEC for offering: "The opportunity to collaborate with colleagues equally passionate about palliative and end-of-life care for the purpose of sharing knowledge, building community relationships, and affecting the quality of care for those living with serious and life-limiting illnesses. Partnering to cultivate professional competence and confidence in palliative and end-of-life care, through ventures ike the Greater Washington Partnership’s ELNEC education project, furthers not only the VA’s mission but promotes excellence in end-of-life care for the greater community." |
The Partnership is excited to announce that we will be offering ELNEC (End of Life Nursing Education Consortium) training again on October 22 and 29 in the Basement Auditorium at Howard University Hospital.
Registration for the training is now open! Early registration is encouraged, as April's training filled to capacity prior to the deadline.
The ELNEC curriculum trains health professionals in the specialized knowledge and skill required to provide the highest quality care to patients and families facing the end of life. Topics include: palliative nursing care; ethical and legal problems; pain and symptom management; communications; and grief, loss, and bereavement. Though tailored to nurses, ELNEC provides useful information for all health care workers, and even consumers dealing with end-of-life issues.
Fill out the registration form today!
Healthcare Organizations Are Encouraged to Get Involved!
We welcome all interested healthcare organizations to get involved in coordinating
the upcoming ELNEC training. You may partner with us by offering a financial contribution in exchange for a guaranteed number of seats for your staff at the training, or collaborate with us through promoting the training at your facility and distributing registration forms. All partners and collaborators will be acknowledged at the training and in fliers that will be disseminated to area healthcare facilities.
For more information, please visit the website of the Partnership's ELNEC training program.
Save the Date! "Cancer Survivor Jubilee: Surviving & Thriving After Cancer" on September 19 at United Medical Center
From DC Cancer Consortium's Survivorship Committee, Including the Partnership
The Partnership, as part of DC Cancer Consortium's Survivorship Committee, encourages you to join us for, "Cancer Survivor Jubilee: Surviving and Thriving After Cancer," on Saturday, September 19 from 11 AM until 4 PM at United Medical Center. The event will focus on celebrating local cancer survivors and their successes as well as offering the community an opportunity to learn about cancer care and treatment options including palliative care.
This exciting event will feature a free shuttle from the Metro, free music and refreshments, and informative speakers and information booths. There will be a special presentation by Oscar Streeter, Jr., MD, from the Howard University College of Medicine, as well as a survivor panel which will include a palliative care expert. The Partnership will be exhibiting at the event to raise community awareness of how palliative care can help cancer survivors enjoy an excellent quality of life.
You can find the "Save the Date" card on the Consortium website under the September lists: http://dccancerconsortium.org/cal_events/index.html.
Meet Diane C. Lewis, New Board President of the Partnership
The Greater Washington Partnership is honored to welcome Diane C. Lewis as President of the Board of Directors, as of July 2009. Ms. Lewis also chairs the Partnership's Public Education Committee. Diane C. Lewis is Co-Principal and Executive Vice President of ALTA Consulting Group, Inc., a management consulting firm with extensive experience in health care policy, health delivery systems and community development.
Ms. Lewis also serves as Co-Chair focused on Policy and Outreach for the National Resource Center on Diversity in End-of-Life Care (NRCD). NRCD, funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation as a part of the Last Acts initiative, is focused on diverse communities. NRCD served as a national clearinghouse for information, research and best practices related to care and caring near the end of life. In keeping with these efforts, Ms. Lewis was part of the Planning Group for the Revitalized National Mortality Follow-back Survey to develop data on an aging population and to analyze the impact of a changing demographic on Medicare and other public policy issues. NRCD continues to work on policy, practice and traditions of caring for people of color at the end of life. Read more about Diane C. Lewis on the Partnership's website.
Partnership Raises Awareness of Palliative Care At Community Events
The Greater Washington Partnership will be exhibiting at community events and fairs in August and September to offer information and resources about palliative care. Come join us as we spread the word about high-quality healthcare options in order to learn more about the benefits of palliative care and the Partnership's mission.
Please visit and chat with us at:
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Stone Soul Picnic. Saturday, August 15th noon to 8 pm at RFK Stadium. Stone Soul Picnic is an annual FREE event open to the public offering entertainment for the entire family. It includes eight hours of main stages performances featuring national and local talent.
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Virginia Hospital Center's Family Fun Day. Saturday, September 26, 2009 from noon to 4:00 pm at the Virginia Hospital Center Healing Garden. Family Fun Day is a free outdoor health and fitness festival offering health and safety information, health screenings, nutrition, entertainment, exercise demonstrations, performances, healthy foods, and more to educate and entertain the whole family.
News and Announcements:
Personal Stories on the End of Life Requested for New TV Series and Website
"How We Die," a new website, is seeking personal stories from patients, families, loved ones and friends, and healthcare professionals about the end of life. Stories will be posted on the "How We Die" website and may be selected for inclusion in a new TV series from The Documentary Group and the creator of the long-running PBS program P.O.V.
The website and TV series will explore how personal experiences shape beliefs about death and dying, and about the decisions made by patients, their family members, and their health care providers at the end of life. "How We Die" will shed light on how individuals have grappled with controversial issues including end-of-life decision-making in the absence of an advance directive, whether a spouse or parent of someone in a vegetative state should have the ability to terminate medical care, and whether someone with a debilitating disease should have the option to end his or her life.
"How We Die" welcomes stories from all perspectives.
For more information about "How We Die," or to read and submit stories, please visit http://how-we-die.org.
Health Care Reform -- Join the Conversation!
By Barbara L. Blaylock, M.D.
The health care reform process is heating up and it is certain that bills will be introduced within a few weeks. I am personally for single payer as one component of a far-reaching set of reforms. But the question of who pays for care is only one of the issues that must be ironed out, as anyone involved directly with patient care knows. Here are two excellent resources that can be accessed online that everyone should see. The first is the excellent Bill Moyers Journal program that aired 5/22/09, which can be accessed at http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05222009/watch.html. The second is the hour-long documentary video “Health, Money and Fear,” which explains in detail the reasons health care costs are out of control, which can be accessed at www.ourailinghealthcare.com. Read the rest of this article online.
FDA Takes Actions on Pain Medications Including Propoxyphene, Acetaminophen
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is taking several actions to lower the risk of overdose in patients using pain medications such as Darvon and Darvocet that contain propoxyphene. The FDA will require manufacturers to strengthen the label to emphasize the potential for overdose and provide a medication guide for patients on safe use of the drugs. A safety study will be conducted on the effects of propoxyphene on the heart at higher than recommended doses. The FDA also plans to investigate how often seniors are prescribed propoxyphene rather than other pain medications, as well as the relative safety of propoxyphene compared with other drugs.
In addition, an FDA advisory committee has recommended putting new restrictions on acetaminophen in order to reduce the risk of liver damage; the FDA does not need to implement the advisory committees' recommendations, but usually does so -- months will likely elapse before the FDA makes a final decision on the drug. The advisory committee voted to substantially reduce a single adult acetaminophen dosage and the maximum total dose for 24 hours, and to eliminate all prescription medciations combinig acetaminophen with other drugs, including Vicodin, Lortab, Maxidone, Norco, Zydone, Tylenol with codeine, Percocet, Endocet, and Darvocet.
The Partnership's Public Policy Committee is investigating whether FDA and DEA regulations present unnecessary barriers to the stocking of pain management medications in DC pharmacies. Join the Committee to get involved in this initiatve. .
Health Care in the Media:
CPR Survival Rates for Older People Unchanged
"Despite efforts to fine-tune the procedure for cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or CPR, the survival rate for older people given CPR has not changed much in recent decades, new research has found. Just 18 percent of adults older than 65 who received CPR while in the hospital survived long enough to be discharged, according to a new study in the July 2 issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. However, during the study period, from 1992 to 2005, the number of people in this age group who were given CPR before they died jumped 37 percent -- from 3.8 percent in 1992 to 5.2 percent in 2005..."
Tomorrow's Pain Will Come Soon Enough
(from The Washington Post, 6/30/09)
"I realized," she told us, "that the moments of pain -- even if the pain was excruciating -- were actually very short compared with the pain I put myself through by thinking about it ahead of time..."
Months to Live, Sisters Face Death with Dignity and Reverence
(from the New York Times, 7/9/09)
"A convent is a world apart, unduplicable. But the Sisters of St. Joseph, a congregation in this Rochester suburb, animate many factors that studies say contribute to successful aging and a gentle death — none of which require this special setting. These include a large social network, intellectual stimulation, continued engagement in life and spiritual beliefs, as well as health care guided by the less-is-more principles of palliative and hospice care..."
Pet Peace of Mind: A Caring Program for Ailing Owners
"Imagine this: A person is terminally ill... For this person, a great comfort — perhaps the greatest comfort — is her pet, who provides round-the-clock love during even the worst moments. Now imagine that in this awful time the patient can eliminate one area of worry: Her much-loved pet's vet care, grooming, food, medicines and other needs will be provided, as if on the wings of angels, free of charge..."
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