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 White Plains, NY - Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester (HPCW) was one of the co-sponsors of Stand by Me: The Palliative Care Concept and Approaches, a recent conference presented by Westchester Region End-of-Life Committee.
The committee is a grassroots consortium of more than 30 agencies dedicated to "advancing the understanding of end-of-life and palliative care issues."
The conference took place at New York Medical College, and topics included Religious Traditions: Talking with Patients and Families; Today's Caregivers: Information to Ease and Enrich the Caregiving Role; Through the Eyes of Children: A Journey Through Loss; Palliative Care: from Idea to Implementation; and Ethical Dilemmas in Palliative Care.
According to the Westchester County Department of Senior Programs and Services, by 2020, Westchester's 60 plus population will grow by 37% as compared to 2000.
Kate Colburn, MA, Executive Director of HPCW, said that the steady increase of the senior population in Westchester County will bring a greater need for a variety of care services and a deeper understanding of quality-of-life and end-of-life issues.
"We must educate our county's seniors, their caretakers and medical professionals alike on caring for people with a life-threatening illness. There are myriad ways of dealing with the stress of caring for a loved one, and caretakers should be prepared to deal with loss and grief in their own ways," said Colburn.
Keynote speakers were Joseph Sacco, MD, founder and director of the Palliative Medicine Consultation Service at Bronx-Lebanon Hospital; Luis H. Zayas, Ph.D., Shanti K. Khinduka Distinguished Professor of Social Work and Psychiatry at Washington University School of Medicine; and James E. Cimino, MD, physician at Cavalry Hospital and past director of the Palliative Care Institute.
The next conference will take place in October 2009.
About Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester: Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester is a private, not-for-profit agency that provides comprehensive health care services to people with advanced illnesses who live in Westchester County. Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester offers programs and care that are intended to promote patient quality of life by addressing the medical, physical, emotional and spiritual needs of patients and their families. Hospice & Palliative Care of Westchester is located at 95 South Broadway, 4 th Floor, White Plains, NY. For additional information, visit www.hospiceofwestchester.com or call 914.682.1484.
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