HOSPICE FOUNDATION OF AMERICA’s 16th ANNUAL LIVING WITH GRIEF® TELECONFERENCE Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area and Health Reach Hospice and Volunteers of Kennebec Valley will host the Hospice Foundation of America’s 16th Annual Living with Grief Teleconference on Wednesday, April 29, 2009 from 1:30pm – 4:00pm at Maine General Medical Center’s Dean Auditorium in Waterville. Registration will take place at 1:00pm in the lobby. The broadcast will take place from 1:30pm to 4:00pm. A panel discussion will follow afterward from 4:00pm to 4:30pm for those interested in CEU’s. Please RSVP to Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area, 873-3615. This teleconference is free and open to the public. Each year the Hospice Foundation of America (HFA) presents a nationally recognized distance learning program, live via satellite and webcast, to more than 125,000 people in 2,000 communities. For more than a decade, this annual educational program has been instrumental in educating health care professionals and families on issues affecting end-of-life care. The program provides an opportunity for a wide variety of professionals – including doctors, nurses, funeral directors, psychologists, educators, social workers and bereavement counselors – to share and exchange ideas and obtain continuing education credits. This year HFA’s 16th Annual National Bereavement Teleconference focuses on “Diversity and End-of-Life Care.” The teleconference will examine how diversity influences end-of-life decision making and the impact that culture has at the time of death and during bereavement. One of the goals of the teleconference is to increase sensitivity by helping professionals acknowledge how their own cultural values and assumptions influence the delivery of care. The program will also discuss the challenges that may occur when culture considerations may cause ethical concerns or moral distress. Moderated by Frank Sesno, Professor of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University and Special Correspondent with CNN, the program will be broadcast Wednesday, April 29, 2009 from 1:30pm to 4:00pm EDT. Mr. Sesno will lead the panel of noted authorities that includes: Samira K. Beckwith, President and CEO of Hope HealthCare Services; Sandy Chen Stokes, Executive Director, Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care; Kenneth J. Doka, Professor of Gerontology, Graduate School of the College of New Rochelle; Wanda H. Jenkins, Manager of Bereavement Services at VITAS Innovative Hospice Care; Richard Payne, Director, Institute on Care at the End of Life, Duke University; Paul Rosenblatt, Professor, College of Education & Human Development, University of Minnesota; and Carlos Sandoval-Cros, Rev., St. Simon’s Episcopal Church, and psychiatrist, private practice. This distinguished panel of ethicists, educators and hospice experts will examine how diversity influences end-of-life decision making and the impact that culture may have at the time of death and during bereavement. – more – Hospice Volunteers of Waterville Area (HVWA) is a non-profit organization founded in 1980 that serves 27 communities in Central Maine. It exists to provide non-medical support to individuals and their families during the last phases of life, to loved ones throughout the grieving process, and to educate the community on issues related to death and grieving. Bereavement services are available to anyone who has sustained loss either through illness or unexpectedly. HVWA is volunteer-based and community funded. For more information about the free end-of-life and grief support services offered by HVWA phone 873-3615 or access information online at www.hvwa.org.
