NHPCO Conference Las Vegas, Nevada – March 04
FOSTERING EXCELLENCE: Individual and Team Leadership and Growth was the theme of National Hospice and Palliative Care Organizations 5th conference held at the Rivera Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas March 23-25. Approximately 2000 hospice professionals, volunteers and interested persons were in attendance.
The opening plenary was given by Rabbi Harold Kushner, Rabbi Laureate of Temple Beth Israel, Natick, MA. He is best known as the author of “When Bad Things Happen to Good People,” an international best seller first published in 1981. A couple of the main points Rabbi Kushner made concerned the needs of the hospice patient at the end of life. Those needs are to know that, “my life mattered” and that, “I am a good person”. This reporter enjoyed the well made point that hospice workers are in the business of healing what cannot be cured in their work with the dying. The Rabbi received a standing ovation for his efforts to give a fresh perspective to the hospice work.
There were many concurrent sessions throughout the day. Some sessions were very specific and technical for nurses and MDs and others geared more to the volunteers and laymen. This reporter attended one session with about 150 other workers and volunteers titled “Spiritual Care at the End of Life: A Journey for Patients and Caregivers Alike”. While waiting for the session to begin, I spoke with an MD from southern California who suggested to me that the spiritual needs of the dying is perhaps the greatest need of all.
The session was introduced by J. Richard Williams, MD and the presenters were Richard B. Fife, Dmin and Jennifer Holder, Mdiv. Richard Fife elaborated on one of Hospices prime missions that is to help people to die with dignity. Richard seemed to be the embodiment of the kind of person one would want nearby at that critical time. His talk was well received. Jennifer Holder spoke of the efforts and reasons involved in publishing a handbook concerning how to be with those who are dying. She emphasized that the book must be something people in the midst of hard emotional times could use as a tool rather than a scholarly work. She kept it short and to the point, filled with what the death and dying event contains and the needs both for the dying and those family and friends involved. The book is titled “PARTNERS” and was available for sale in the marketplace at the conference.
This was just one highlight of the first day…please see above for the complete program as published on the NHPCO Site.
