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Mission statement
We are a community coalition
dedicated to the improvement of end of life care through the
development and promotion of a community-based network of compassionate
support for end-life issues and needs. (Return to list)
Our organization
Our coalition has been in
existence since September of 2002. We have an active membership
of 30–40 individuals, representing 25 organizations.
Our goal as an organization is to promote collaboration through
the support of projects, such as this website, brochures,
informational booths and training that bring resources and
information together to support end-of-life care. The Coalition
is a 100% volunteer effort with no physical ("brick
and mortar") location. (Return
to list)
Meetings
Meetings for the Coalition
membership are on the third Tuesday of the month, from 12:00–1:00
p.m. at Saint Paul’s Lutheran Church (1515 South Harrison
Street in Grand Island). Anyone is welcome. You do not need
to call ahead to attend.
(Return to list)
Coalition Projects:
Since its inception, the Coalition
has hosted press conferences—for instance, to announce
the Catholic Health Initiatives grant in July 2003, the distribution
of its "Respect My Wishes" kits in November 2003,
and issued a press release to comment on the national “Means
to a Better End” Report released November 2002.
These issues have received coverage from three local television
stations (KGIN-TV, NTV, KHAS) the KRGI AM-FM radio station
network, Nebraska Public Radio and The Grand Island Independent.
The Coalition began providing information for the STAT newsletter
(a newsletter developed by Saint Francis Medical Center for
the area physicians) in January of 2003 and provides at least
one informational article per quarter.
We hosted our first community fair, entitled "Respect
My Wishes," on May 1, 2003, at Wellness Works/Por
Su Salud, a community education and wellness center operated
by Saint Francis Medical Center at the Conestoga Mall. The
second annual Respect My Wishes Event was held April 22,
2004, also at Wellness Works/Por Su Salud. This event is
hosted annually.
The Grand Island Coalition for End of Life Care participated
in the creation of a resource guide by Saint Francis Medical
Center with information, including services for the seriously
ill published in English and Spanish. The resource guide
was distributed in August of 2003. Responding to a request
from local clergy, the coalition is now creating a brochure
from the information in the resource guide that pertains
specifically to end of life care. The resource guide is also
available online in the Community Programs section
of this website.
Jennifer Eurek and Diana Wing, employees of Saint Francis
Medical Center and members of the Grand Island Coalition
for End of Life Care, attended the training for “Caregiving
at Life’s End” in St. Petersburg, Fla., in August
of 2003. They have conducted classes for caregivers in October
2003 and March 2004 and are planning additional caregiver
workshops.
The Coalition hosted the "Caring Conversations" workshop
Sept. 23, 2003, at College Park with Robert Potter, M.D.
of the Midwest Bioethics Center in Kansas City, Mo., as its
featured speaker. Sixty-seven professionals participated
in the conference. Dr. Potter met with 20 members of the
Coalition on Sept. 22 to discuss palliative care and caregiving
in our community.
A significant project of the Coalition is the free distribution
of Respect My Wishes kits. These kits include a magnetic
sleeve that holds an emergency information card and also
information on advanced directives and
an important document locator form. The magnetic sleeve and
emergency information card are to be posted on your refrigerator
to give emergency personnel basic information about yourself
in the event you can not speak to them.
The Grand Island Coalition partnered with the Nebraska
Coalition for Compassionate Care (NCCC) to develop,
distribute, and analyze a statewide survey administered
by Kaye Norris, Ph.D., of the Life's End Institute. Many
surveys have been done on the community level, but this
is the first scientific, randomly-collected survey on a
statewide level. (Earlier, the North Carolina chapter of
the American Association of Retired Persons had conducted
a survey of its members, but not the
general population.) The results of the Nebraska survey indicate
that 96% of Nebraskans say it is important to be off life
support machines that simply prolong an impending death,
yet only 5% have discussed this with their physicians,
and 66% lack any written documents stating these wishes.
The Grand Island Coalition created this website, respectmywishes.org,
to encourage Nebraskans to talk with family members and
discuss health care planning with
their doctors. From
this website, you can even download an advance directive so
your family and physician will have the documents they
need to comply with your wishes.
A Speakers Bureau is
available through the Coalition. Topics are varied and include
how to start a conversation about end of life issues, addressing
spritual needs, handling financial issues, coping with grief,
controlling pain, and talking with children about death and
dying. Coalition members average three speaking engagements
a month.
This website is our latest project to distribute
accurate and useful information to the public. We will continue to update it
as new information is available. (Return to list) |
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