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 White Plains, NY - The Collaborative for End of Life Care, a consortium representing over 35 of the County’s leading hospitals, home care agencies, colleges and universities, hospice, hospital and social services providers, is coordinating a major conference to be held on Friday, November 13 from 8 am – 4 pm at the Westchester County Center in White Plains.
The conference is free and open to the public. Continuing education credits for social workers, physicians, attorneys, nursing home administrators and funeral directors will be available for selected workshops throughout the day. Approximately 400 people are expected to attend.
With healthcare at the top of the national agenda, the elderboom and continuing advances in the medical community’s ability to prolong life, a thorough discussion of the ethics, challenges and issues posed by end of life care has never been as timely. Conference attendees will learn about some of the medical, ethical, legal and practical issues surrounding end of life care. Workshops will address these issues as they relate to hospitals and care providers, family caregivers and patients of all ages, including young people with life-threatening illnesses.
Featured speakers among the presenters are: Dr. Joseph J. Fins from the Division of Medical Ethics, Weill Cornell Medical College, New York Presbyterian Hospital who will be delivering the keynote presentation. He will be joined by colleagues Kathleen Burke, Esq. and Frederick J. Wertz, Ph.D. as discussants. Ms. Burke is Counsel, Vice President and Secretary at New York Presbyterian Hospital, and Dr. Wertz is a Professor in the Department of Psychology at Fordham University, as well as a clinical psychologist and researcher. The title of the Keynote Presentation is “Balancing the Right to Die and the Right to Care: Neuroethics Meets Palliative Care.”
Following Dr. Fins’ presentation there will be a plenary session entitled “Cultural Perspectives at the End of Life,” moderated by Joan Adams, LCSW; with presenters, Karen Bullock, Ph.D, and Ernest Aguilar, Ph.D. In the afternoon, concurrent workshops will be held on a variety of topics including: children’s bereavement, psychosocial aspects of pain and suffering, caring for young adults with life-threatening illness, bridging research and practice in caregiving, health care costs, complementary care and geriatric care, and the challenges of hospital-based palliative care programs.
The first “Dr. Mary Ann Quaranta Award” will be presented at the conference in honor of Dr. Mary Ann Quaranta, Dean Emerita of the Fordham Graduate School of Social Service and one of the Honorary Chairs and Founders of the Conference. Camille F. Murphy, Director of the Office for Women, will be presenting the award.
Other government officials attending the program are: Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano; Commissioner of the Department for Senior Programs and Services, Mae Carpenter; and the Honorable Adam Bradley of White Plains.
About the Collaborative for End of Life Care:
The Collaborative for End of Life Care of Westchester and Southern New York is a consortium of over 35 public and private agencies, colleges and universities, home health, hospice, hospital and social services providers under the auspices of the Fordham Ravazzin Center on Aging, Pace Women’s Justice Center and the Public Private Partnership for Aging Services. The collaborative is dedicated to advancing understanding of end of life and palliative care issues.
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