AGENDA

8:45am     Registration/Coffee

9:00am     A brief history of ethics and ethics committees

9:30am     Theorectical foundations of ethical analysis

10:30am    BREAK

10:45am    Theorectical foundations - small group discussions

11:15am    Role of law in decision-making of ethics committees

12:15pm    LUNCH

1:00pm      Structure and function of ethics committees

PROGRAMMED CANCELLED

Unfortunately we are not able to provide this program at this time. We hope to be able to reschedule it at a later time. Contact Marian Osborne if you have questions. 

This program will bring hospital, long term care, emergency care providers, home care, palliative, hospice, and family/patient perspectives together in thinking about continuity of care as individuals encounter multiple components of the health care system as illness advances.  In addition to addressing barriers to continuity of care and processes/practices that have been effective in providing effecte care across systems, we hope to demonstrate a model for creating conversations to address this issue in particular communities.

About the Conference: "Vulnerable patients" - all patients are vulnerable to some degree by virtue of their illness or injury, and their interactions with or dependence on the health care system.  Certain patient groups experience an increased level of vulnerability by virtue of the nature of their illness, characteristics of the health care system, and social justice concerns.  "Wicked" problems are those that are complex, extremely difficult to address, require the involvement of multiple disciplines and perspectives, and are likely to recur.  During this year's conference we will explore the nature of vulnerability and wicked problems through patient narratives, with particular attention to ethical issues in: neurological disability, access to care and mental illness.

Agenda:

9:30    Overview of the State of the Dilemma: A Journey to Texas and Beyond

10:30   Anatomy of a Futility Dilemma

11:15   Break

11:30   Designing and Implementing a Hospital Futility Policy

12:15   Lunch

1:00    Futility From the Judge's Bench

1:45    Is a State Law the Answer in Georgia?

2:30    Wrap up

This one-day workshop will provide foundational information and interactive explanation about the roles and responsibilities of Ethics Committees and committee members.  Content information is interspersed with models and small group discussions that allow for integration of knowledge with skills.  Ample opportunity is provided for active attendee participation.

New members of Ethics Committees who are still being oriented to their role as well as more seasoned members are encouraged to attend.

Ethics consultation, as a critical function of institutionalal ethics committee, requires members to be proficient in communication skills and experienced in managing conflict situation.  Building on skills developed in the fields of mediation and conflict resolution, a practice of bioethics mediation has been suggested.  This workshop will present the components of bioethics mediation and provide participants with the opportunity to begin practicing some skills inherent in mediation.

About the Conference: The complexity of the current healthcare environment challenges providers to interact with increasingly more diverse populations who present with widely varying beliefs and practices.  In an environment faced with life and death choices and decisions this diversity further complicates the ethical analysis patients and families use as they face living with dying fro acute and chronic health problems. To be able to appropirately and compassionately interact with today's patients, providers must be able to recognize how diverse cultural backgrounds both impact patients and families and influence their own values and beliefs. To be effective, they must be able to incorporate this understanding of culture into ethical treatment practices.

In this workshop we will address selected ethical issues that arise when caring for those who suffer from mental illness and that confront healthcare providers both in our mental health services and in our acute care institutions.  Using a series of panels that include providers from mental health and acute care settings, speakers will present selected cases to discuss current issues exploring ethical considerations related to these issues and identifying practical implications including model approaches.

Kim Gardner, our colleague at the Consortium and the John and Susan Wieland Center for Ethics, will be leaving Wednesday, August 15.  Kim has been a part of our family since April 2000 and, as most of you know, has shouldered many responsibilities and roles for the Consortium. Many of you know her best as the Consortium’s welcoming voice both via phone and at our events and as the troubleshooter for all event registration and website questions.  She has been an invaluable member of the Consortium’s team and central to our work in health care ethics in Georgia.  We will miss her greatly.  We are also excited for Kim as she moves into new work after completing her Master of Counseling degree.  Kim will be teaching and counseling at St. Jude's Recovery Center woorking with homeless people who are also dealing with addiction.  We wish her all the best in her new work.

Wanted to share the good news that House Bill 24, creating the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care, was signed into law by Governor Perdue today.    The bill will go into effect July 1, 2007.

This bill combines the living will and the durable power of attorney for health care forms in more user friendly language and provides the opportunity to express additional treatment preferences.  The bill was drafted by a working group of individuals representing diverse perspectives from across the state who dedicated many hours from June 2006 through the 2007 legislative session to moving the bill forward.  Representative Steve Tumlin initiated the working group and I had the pleasure of co-chairing the group with Nick Djuric, Esq., who is with Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP and Chair, Legislation Committee of Georgia State Bar Fiduciary Law Section.