Annual Assembly
In a matter of one week, the John B. Hynes Convention Center in Boston transformed from a few rolled up carpets, posters, and chairs to a convention center full of energy, information, and more than 2,400 hospice and palliative medicine professionals. Tweets using the #AAHPM or #HPMAssembly hash tag numbered at 834, AAHPM’s blog team … Read moreAssembly Recap at a Glance…
After a busy conference schedule it was wonderful to walk in to the Weaving Connections – Service of Remembrance & Celebration and be greeted by the wonderful music of Trillium. Trillium is a group of volunteer singers from Vermont who harmonize their hearts for patients in their homes, hospitals and nursing homes. I was so … Read moreWeaving Connections
The Hospice and Palliative Care Council of Vermont schedules an educational assembly around flag day, Mid-June, at Lake Morey Inn, near the New Hampshire border — it’s a magical place, every meeting room facing the lake a few yards away, the mountains just beyond the further shore, the meeting more dominated by music and art … Read moreWounded Warriors: Their Last Battle
I had not originally thought to attend this seminar, but my NP colleague had expressed an interest in attending this session. Mostly because some of the patients we are seeing now are younger with children and ask for how to explain death to their children. Is there a good resource? What a great presentation of … Read moreWhat children learn about death
This informative talk by Drs. Goldstein and Anderson was a well-paced informative synopsis of 8 important peer-reviewed articles and how the findings can be applied to our patients. I will refrain from citing the actual articles and authors as those can be easily found in the downloaded handouts. I will summarize take home point and … Read moreState of the Science
Healthcare Reform… TIME TO ACT! WE (that means- you, your friends, anyone who cares about Hospic & Palliative Medicine and I) need to be involved in healthcare reform. Doing nothing is not an option! Questions to ponder as you peruse this Blog Entry…. (As always comments are HIGHLY encouraged…) Are you aware, many States are … Read moreHealthcare Reform… Time to Act…
We as hospice and palliative medicine professionals have been largely focused on the former public health crisis in our training and practice as well as research endeavors to improve pain assessment and management. The FDA has expanded authority given in 2007 to focus attention on the public saftey issues related to the significant increase in … Read moreTwo competing public health crises: the undertreatment of pain AND the increase in opioid related deaths
This was an extremely helpful session for those of us doing the number crunching for our programs. There were new ideas to help calculate the impact of different (pre- and post-palliative care intervention) hospital utilization patterns. Look for the slides on-line!
One of my favorite events during the Annual Assembly each year is breakfast with the AAHPM Presidents – past, present and future. It’s a tradition that is meaningful to all who attend, although I suspect the reasons vary among the group. For our incoming president, Sean Morrison, this informal “coffee talk” provides an opportunity to … Read moreMy Breakfast with the Academy Presidents
Dr Periyakoil initially gave us the choice of either listening to her lecture, or of having her lead a group discussion. The group opted for the lecture but as it ended we were in a giant discussion, and we had all learned something about how not only their families, but our patients with Long Term … Read moreLong-Term Illness Discussion Inspires