Washington End of Life Consensus Coalition
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News
Save the date—Friday, November 12, End of Life Coalition 2010 annual meeting
Mark your calendars for the 2010 Washington End of Life Consensus Coalition (WEOLCC) annual meeting, on Friday, November 12, 9:00am-2:00pm, to be held in the Puget Sound region (location TBA).
The meeting will feature a keynote presentation, “Caring for Our Elders and Caring for Ourselves: Invitation to a community dialogue,” co-presented by Stu Farber, MD, Associate Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the UW School of Medicine, and Bruce Smith, MD, Medical Director, Hospice & Nursing Home Services at Group Health.
In Dr. Farber’s own words: “Our community faces a challenge never experienced before. Over the next two decades the number of persons over the age of 65 will increase from 12% to 20% of our population. I am in the vanguard of 78 million baby boomers that will turn 65 starting in 2011. The number of generation Xers to support us will only be 40 million. Never in human history have so many people lived so long and been supported by so few. Come and participate in a community dialogue to explore new and creative approaches to address these issues. Let us go beyond medicalizing aging and look at ways of building community across all generations that supports and shares in the richness and challenges of the final stages of life."
More details, including registration information, will be posted here shortly. For more information, contact Graham Short at (206) 956-3633, 1 (800) 552-0612, or via email at gfs@wsma.org.
The WEOLCC Annual Meeting provides an excellent opportunity to network with colleagues who share an interest in end-of-life issues. The meeting is open to all.
Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment form review—your comments welcome
This fall the Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment Form (a.k.a. POLST) and attending educational materials will be reviewed. The revision process reflects a commitment by the WSMA and Washington State Department of Health (DOH) to review and consider revisions to the POLST program every two years. The form was last updated in December of 2008.
If you have any comments or suggestions on how to improve the POLST form and program, please email Graham Short at gfs@wsma.org.
The POLST form is designed to improve the quality of care people receive at the end of life. It is based on effective communication of patient wishes, documentation of medical orders on a brightly colored form and a promise by health care professionals to honor these wishes.
The WSMA POLST web page has instructions on how to order the form, as well as related educational materials, including a patient brochure, training DVDs and a streaming educational video.
All revisions to the form are approved by the WSMA and the DOH, the program’s co-sponsors.
Diversity Workshop, Friday, May 7, 2010 a success
Overcoming Barriers, Building Bridges is the title of the day-long diversity workshop, held on Friday, May 7, 8:30 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. at the Tukwila Community Center. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Washington End of Life Consensus Coalition and the Washington State Hospice & Palliative Care Organization.
Keynote speakers included Ira SenGupta, Cross Cultural Health Care Program’s Executive Director and former Director of Cultural Competency Programs, with a presentation on Utilizing Cultural Competence for Optimal EOL Care, and John Pham, DO, a Family Practice Physician with Adventist Health Care in Portland, OR, with a presentation on Understanding Death & Dying in the Asian Community. Also featured was a luncheon presentation by author, speaker, executive coach, and consultant, Gloria Burgess, on Celebrating our Creativity and Diversity.
2009 WEOLCC Annual Meeting wrap up
An examination of the current state of end-of-life care in Washington State was featured at the 2009 WEOLCC Annual Meeting on Friday, November 20 at the Red Lion Hotel Seattle Airport.
Passage of Washington’s Death With Dignity Act, the evolving fields of palliative and hospice care (download a pdf of the presentation on hospice by Lisa Butler, Director of Public Policy and Outreach from the Washington State Hospice and Palliative Care Organization), and the increasing use nationwide of the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) were among the topics covered. Also featured was an update by State Representative Jim Moeller, (D-Vancouver) on legislative issues related to end-of-life care, as well as a presentation on the endangered online Washington State Living Will Registry titled “Washington’s Living Will Registry – Use It or Lose It” (download a pdf of the Living Will Registry presentation).
Download and read the meeting minutes from the November 20 WEOLCC Annual Meeting. [PDF]
For more information on the WEOLCC Annual Meeting, contact Graham Short at (206) 956-3633, 1 (800) 552-0612, or via email.
The Living Will Registry taskforce formed to promote the new online registry
The WEOLCC has convened a taskforce with the goal of promoting the Department of Health's online Living Will Registry. Meeting monthly, the group will be exploring various ways of educating the state populace as well as health professionals on the existence and importance of the Registry.
The taskforce has written both a long-form and short-form article promoting the Registry, to be used in print publications, online news, etc.
Download the long-form Living Will Registry article. [PDF]
Download the short-form Living Will Registry article. [PDF]
For more information about the Living Will Registry taskforce, contact Iona Stenhouse, (206) 369-0644.
PNWU adds palliative care education to their core curriculum
Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences-College of Osteopathic Medicine, now in its second year of operation, has incorporated palliative care education into their Community Behavioral Medicine core curriculum. Based in Yakima, Washington, and in keeping with its commitment to prepare new physicians to optimally serve their future patients, the second year medical school class received close to 30 hours of didactic teaching on critical issues pertinent to caring for patients with life limiting diseases such as cancer, advanced cardiac, lung and kidney disease, dementia and others. Important topics such as pain management, understanding the spiritual and psychological distress in these journeys, and many of the ethical and legal dilemmas in caring for patients at end of life were discussed. Under the leadership of Dr. Linda Wrede-Seaman, who is one of the few board certified palliative medicine specialist in Eastern Washington, and a pioneer of the this new specialty in medicine, the students were able to receive cutting edge education, including exercises in filling out their own advanced directives, writing essays on current issues, and observing hospice care in the field with Yakima’s local hospice agencies. “This is a dream come true”, says Dr. Seaman. “The best way to change the way we care for our aging population and do a better job of achieving a ‘good death’ is to teach our young physicians how to be prepared for the many biomedical issues and questions that patients and their families have as they make this powerful journey toward death.”
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End-of-life documents can now be registered online in Washington state
Most people have clear ideas of their end-of-life preferences, but few share these with family and physicians. The Washington State Living Will Registry is designed to preserve Washington State residents’ final wishes. A living will (also known as a health care directive) gives you the power to record your most important medical decisions in case you are unable to communicate them later. People of all ages should have a living will. The Living Will Registry can also record other end of life documents, including a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment form (POLST), and Mental Health Directives. Whatever end of life documents you choose, by recording them using the Washington State Living Will Registry, your family members will be comforted knowing that your treatment choices are up-to-date and accurate.
Create a complete record of your wishes
The Washington State Living Will Registry includes the following (click on the link for more information about that particular end of life document):
Sign up today
Registering online is easy and free. Once registration is complete, you will receive a unique registration number. Only authorized health care personnel can access your living will. You can access your living will at any time and will automatically be reminded annually to update your living will documents if needed.
Take charge of your life and document your decisions at www.doh.wa.gov/livingwill or call 1.800.525.0127 today.
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Newsletter
Read the February 2010 issue of the WEOLCC newsletter. [PDF]
Archived newsletters:
January 2009
October 2008
September 2007
March 2007
April 2006
November 2005
May 2005
To receive the Coalition's quarterly newsletter, contact Graham Short at (206) 956-3633.
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About us
The Washington End of Life Consensus Coalition (WEOLCC) began its work in June 1997. While acknowledging that effecting change in our families, communities, and health care institutions will require long-term vision and effort, the Coalition believes that efforts both immediate and long range need to be brought to bear to significantly improve care for the dying. The Coalition will annually revisit its goals and its work toward them to ensure that it is responding to short-range needs in care for the dying while allowing its long-range work to evolve, as end-of-life care itself evolves.
Membership of the WEOLCC is a broad-based cross-section of individuals and organizations across the state interested in bettering end of life care. Coalition members meet once a year at the WEOLCC annual meeting, usually in the fall, where the course of action for the upcoming year is determined. The Steering Committee of the WEOLCC meets quarterly to create an action plan for reaching the goals set forth by the Coalition.
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Vision and Mission Statements
Vision
Our vision is a community where people are empowered to make knowledgeable choices regarding their end of life that are known, respected, and honored.
Mission
Our mission to promote caring conversations about living and dying well within all communities across Washington state.
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Values statement
- We foster conversation to build common ground, increase understanding and collaboration, reduce polarization, and increase open honest discussion where everyone's diverse perspective is honored.
- We value the development of rich relationships that support leadership and facilitate networking for professionals and lay people involved in/working with serious illness and end of life issues.
- We believe the end of life is a natural important life cycle event.
- We value helping patients and families live the best life they can until they die.
- We believe that patients, families and communities should be empowered to choose care based on their values and goals.
- We believe in building diverse coalitions that create consensus in ways that improve the end of life experience for every person in the state of Washington.
- We believe that everyone in the state of Washington should have access to excellent end of life care.
- We support access to hospice and palliative care for all citizens in the state of Washington.
- We celebrate the successful events that have gone before in end of life care.
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Join the WEOLCC!
To join the Washington End of Life Consensus Coalition, just contact Coalition staff member Graham Short at (206) 956-3633 and ask to join. It's a simple as that.
There are no annual dues. Members will receive the WEOLCC newsletter (via email or mail), as well as email minutes from the quarterly steering committee meetings.
Coalition members will be invited to participate in a yearly WEOLCC annual meeting, typically in the fall, where the direction of the Coalition's work for the next year will be determined.
Other opportunities to participate will be detailed in the newsletter and quarterly steering committee minutes.
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WEOLCC Steering Committee
Sharmon Figenshaw, RN (Chair)
Anne Koepsell, RN (Vice Chair)
Stuart Farber, MD (Chair Emeritus)
Janet Abrams, PsyD
Iyatunde Akunyun
Char Barrett
Therese Johnson, LMHC
Pete McGough, MD
Jeff Mero
Robb Miller
Representative Jim Moeller
Donna Oiland
William O. Robertson, MD
Jim Shaw, MD
Bruce Smith, MD
Pat Thibaudeau
Linda Wrede-Seaman, MD
Graham Short (staff)
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