From Concept to Critical Mass:
Building & Sustaining Today's Palliative Care Program

November 13-15, 2008
Hilton DFW Lakes Executive Conference Center
Grapevine, Texas

Where is your palliative care program today?
Where do you want it to be tomorrow?

The new CAPC Level I / II Seminar is designed with in-depth content and rich networking opportunities for programs at every stage. Choose from a host of focused workshops, discussion sessions, and breakouts that address your particular program needs, including:

• Pediatric Program Development
• Strategic Planning
• Outpatient Programs
• Pharmacy Protocols
• Quality Metrics
• ED/ICU Outreach
• Oncology Collaborations
• Hospice-Hospital Dynamics
• Increasing Referrals
• And much more!

Save the date for the one-of-a-kind palliative care seminar that gives you the strategies, the knowledge, and the networking opportunities to make your program succeed.

Online Registration Opens April 1.

Learn more at www.capc.org/tex

The Joint Commission is calling for your feedback on the Proposed Palliative Care Certification Standards and Elements of Performance. The Center to Advance Palliative Care urges you to review the proposed standards and participate in the brief online survey.

A robust response from the field is critical to ensuring that The Joint Commission views palliative care as a key component of quality care in American hospitals.

Deadline to respond is April 8.

To learn more and participate, click here

In September 2006, the American Board of Medical Specialties (ABMS) approved the creation of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (HPM) as a subspecialty of ten participating boards.

If you want to get certified, now is the time.

Starting in 2008, a new certification exam will be available. However, as of 2013 only Fellowship trained candidates will be eligible.

We urge you to take advantage of the grandfathering period (2008-2012)!

• Physicians will only be allowed to sit for the new board examination if they are certified by one of the ten participating specialty boards.
• Physicians who already hold ABHPM certification will need to take the new certification examination before the end of the grandfathering period (currently expected to run from 2008-2012).

The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) is requesting sample job descriptions for palliative care clergy/grief and bereavement counselors. This request is an effort to assist new and expanding palliative care programs in recruiting clergy/grief and bereavement counselors for their teams.

Please send your sample job descriptions to capc@mssm.edu.

Thank you!

The University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, Transitions and Life Choices (Palliative Care) Program announces a nine-month, full-time fellowship in Clinical Social Work in Palliative Care, to begin on September 1, 2008. To learn more and apply, visit www.fairview.org/tlc or contact Dot Landis, ACSW, LICSW, at 612.273.5893 or dlandis1@fairview.org.

The deadline for applications is April 1, 2008.

Palliative Care Leadership Centers^SM (PCLC) offers tailored, hands-on training and yearlong mentoring at your choice of one of six exemplary palliative care programs. Enroll today to jump-start or expand your program!

To learn more about PCLC and which program is right for you, click here.

We encourage you to register soon, while sessions are still available. CME credits are available for physicians.

Fairview Health System - Minneapolis, MN
April 23-25
September 10-12
October 22-24

Medical College of Wisconsin - Milwaukee, WI
April 21-23
June 25-27

Mount Carmel Health System - Columbus, OH
April 3-4
September 11-12
November 6-7

Palliative Care Center of the Bluegrass - Lexington, KY
March 26-28
April 16-18
May 7-9
June 11-13
August 13-15
September 24-26
October 1-3
November 5-7

University of California, San Francisco -
San Francisco, CA
June 5-6

VCU Massey Cancer Center - Richmond, VA
May 19-20
September 15-16
November 10-11

To learn more and register, visit www.capc.org/pclc

Minneapolis Star Tribune, March 16, 2008. Moving Beyond 'More Is Better', by Josephine Marcotty.

Science Daily, January 14, 2008: Guidelines to Improve Care of Three Symptoms at End of Life.

The New York Times, January 4, 2008. U.S. Curtailing Bids to Expand Medicare Rolls, by Robert Pear.

Limited quantities of the CAPC Level I Seminar and CAPC Level II Seminar media are currently available at the CAPC eMarketplace. All plenary sessions are included. Choose from the interactive multimedia CD-ROM that contains both video and audio, the audio only CD (for Level II Seminar only) or the MP3 audio CD-ROM (for Level I Seminar only).

To learn more and make a purchase, visit the CAPC eMarketplace

The American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) announced the appointment of Julie Bruno, MSW, LCSW, as Director of Education and Training. Bruno comes to AAHPM with extensive experience in hospice and palliative medicine, most recently as Senior Clinical Director at Midwest Palliative & Hospice CareCenter in Glenview, IL. Prior to that, she worked for five years at the Corry Regional Hospice in Corry, PA. She officially assumed her position with AAHPM on March 3, 2008.

The Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC) awarded teams from five academic medical centers the opportunity to train at a Palliative Care Leadership Centers^SM (PCLC) site of their choice and receive a full year of mentoring by PCLC expert faculty.

The Milbank Foundation for Rehabilitation has funded this important initiative to enhance palliative care education at medical school-affiliated teaching hospitals through the development of clinical palliative care programs. The goal is to assist scholarship recipients in developing a robust palliative care program that provides critical patient care and serves as an educational and research platform.

The winners are:

Kings County Hospital Center, Brooklyn, New York
New York Hospital Queens, Flushing, New York
Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Tallahassee, Florida
Truman Medical Centers, Kansas City, Missouri
University Medical Center, Tuscon, Arizona

The End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) is offering several 2008 training courses. Upcoming courses include the ELNEC Critical Care Train-the-Trainer program on April 21-23 and October 9-11, and the ELNEC Geriatric Train-the-Trainer program on May 5-7. The Critical Care course is free for California critical care nurses, and the Geriatrics course is free for California nurses who work with geriatric patients in skilled nursing facilities, hospice, homecare, acute care facilities, clinics, etc.

For more information and to register, visit www.aacn.nche.edu/ELNEC

Dr. Chad D. Kollas, MD, FACP, FCLM, FAAHPM, was appointed to the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine's (AAHPM) American Medical Association (AMA) Delegate position. Dr. Kollas is Medical Director of Palliative Care at MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando in Orlando, FL. Prior to working at MD Anderson Cancer Center Orlando, he worked as an associate with Geisinger Clinic in Danville, PA. Dr. Kollas has published several articles and given numerous clinical presentations on various legal issues in palliative medicine. He received his medical degree from Penn State University College of Medicine and trained in Internal Medicine at Penn State University.

Part II: Developing the Inpatient Fixed Bed Unit
Tuesday, April 8, 2008
1:30-2:30 PM Eastern

Featured Speaker:
Thomas J. Smith, MD
Professor and Chair
Hematology/Oncology and Palliative Care
Palliative Care Leadership Centers^SM
VCU Massey Cancer Center
Richmond, VA

To learn more and register, click here