Fitzgibbon Mary Montgomery Hospice to host annual "Living With Grief" teleconference

Fitzgibbon Mary Montgomery Hospice will host the 17th Annual Living with Grief Teleconference via satellite beginning Wednesday, March 24, in the education suite at Fitzgibbon Hospital. The teleconference will run from 12:30 to 3 p.m.

This year's teleconference will focus on "Cancer and End-of-Life Care" and will address care options related to cancer diagnoses as well as loss and grief reactions for patients, families, and professional care-givers.

The teleconference will also examine psychological aspects of cancer, pain management, and ethical issues related to the disease.

Fitzgibbon Mary Montgomery Hospice Director Roberta Griffitt is looking forward to the teleconference.

"We are pleased to again offer this opportunity to health care and counseling professionals in the communities we serve," Griffitt said. "The Living with Grief teleconference series has proven to be a very thorough and enlightening educational opportunity for everyone who attends. Each year we all learn a lot from the professionals enlisted for the panel."

The program will once again be moderated by Frank Sesno, Director of the School of Media and Public Affairs at The George Washington University and will include a panel of noted authorities including Yvette Colon, director of education and support at the American Pain Foundation; Marlene Davis, president and CEO at Capital Hospice; Kenneth J. Doka, professor of gerontology at The College of New Rochelle; Richard Payne, director of the Institute on Care at the End of Life, Duke University; Sherry R. Schachter, director of bereavement services at Calvary Hospital/Hospice; and Brad Stuart, medical director at Sutter VNA and Hospice.

Griffitt said lunch will be served at noon. There is no charge for lunch or the teleconference, but reservations are required.

For more information about the 17th Annual "Living with Grief" Teleconference, or to make a reservation for the event, please contact Fitzgibbon Mary Montgomery Hospice at 660-831-3293.

Each year the Hospice Foundation of America (AFA) 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 opportunity 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 physicians, nurses, funeral directors, psychologists, educators, socials workers and bereavement counselors -- to share and exchange ideas and obtain continuing education credits.