Diversity and End of Life Care Discussed Across the Nation

Hospice Foundation of America’s 16^th Annual Living With Grief Teleconference was held this past Wednesday at over 1,000 locations in the U.S. and Canada. The program focused on ways of understanding diversity and how cultural histories, traditions and beliefs can affect end of life care. The two and one-half hour satellite broadcast was followed by a half-hour discussion by local panels.

At the University of North Texas in Denton, the teleconference was hosted by the Denton Area Partnership For End-of-Life Care. In Williamsport, Pennsylvania, participants heard from local panel members, Jim Huebert, manager of Susquehanna Health Social Services; Abdul Jaleel, spiritual leader of the local Islamic community, and Dr. Alan Nesbitt, medical director of Susquehanna Health’s Hospice program. At the University of Nevada School of Medicine in Reno, a panel that included Hindu, Buddhist, Muslim, Jewish, and Christian faith leaders led a discussion after the broadcast.

A DVD of the broadcast will be available in June and the companion book, Living With Grief: Diversity and End-of-Life Care is available now.