Lister Hill Letter
Newsletter of the Lister Hill Library of the Health Sciences at UAB

July/August 2000

A DIALOG ON DYING:  ON OUR OWN TERMS

Across the country, local coalitions are forming to improve end-of-life care in their communities in conjunction with the PBS series ON OUR OWN TERMS: Moyers on Dying, which premieres September 10-13 (8 p.m. local time on Alabama Public Television).  In this four-part series, Emmy Award-winning journalist Bill Moyers reports on the intimate, end-of-life journeys of more than a dozen individuals, their families and their caregivers as they struggle to infuse the end of life with compassion and caring. Filled with honesty, courage and humor, the series breaks through the culture of denial to wrestle with how we can die better in America.  Birmingham's own Balm of Gilead hospice program will be highlighted during this series.

Tapping the potential of this unprecedented 6-hour series to trigger a new conversation about end-of-life care, a national outreach campaign involving medical, professional, and consumer organizations as well as public television stations has been gearing up since last year.  Here in Birmingham a local coalition has been formed to plan a series of events that will raise public awareness and promote dialogue about these complex and challenging issues.  Spearheaded by the Birmingham Public Library and made possible by a grant from the American Library Association (ALA), there will be a series of four community discussion forums for local residents in conjunction with the program as well as a CME program here at UAB for health professionals in the area.  The following is a list of events in the On Our Own Terms series of local programs.

On Our Own Terms (Health Professional Discussion Forum)
September 6, 2000
Time: Noon
UAB Spain-Wallace Auditorium

UAB's own Dirk van Leeuwen MD, Will Deal MD, and John Shuster MD will conduct a prelude to the series focused on health professionals.  All local healthcare providers are welcome.  1.0 CME credit hours will be available for attendees.  Call 975-5676 for more information.

Living With Dying (Community Discussion Forum)
October 3, 2000
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Birmingham Public Library (Downtown) Auditorium

The program will use three readings to stimulate community conversation.  Emphasis will be on personal stories connected with caregiving and the end of life.  John Shuster, MD, Medical Director of the UAB Hospice and director of the Palliative Medicine program at UAB, will serve as discussion leader.  Copies of the readings will be available at public libraries, so they can be read beforehand; copies will also be available at the program.  Call 226-3630 for more information.

A Different Kind of Care (Community Discussion Forum)
September 26, 2000
Time: 6-8 p.m.
St. Vincent's Hospital, Bruno Cancer Center
810 St. Vincent's Drive

Palliative care relieves pain and provides psychological, social and spiritual support to a terminally ill person.  A panel of experts will talk about palliative care, drawing on their areas of expertise.  The session will then be opened to audience questions and discussion.  The panelists are Linda Olivet, Professor of Thanatology at the University of Alabama (Tuscaloosa); John Claypool, pastor at St. Luke's Episcopal Church; Pam Fordham, Assistant Professor at UAB School of Nursing; and Jane Lee, social worker with the Jefferson County Department of Health.  Call 226-3630 for more information.

A Death of One's Own (Community Discussion Forum)
October 3, 2000
Time: 6-8 p.m.
Birmingham Sheraton (Downtown)

Take part in a community forum on how society should care for those near death and debate the alternatives: Physician-assisted suicide? Palliative care? Sustain life by any means possible? A combination of these?  Peggy Sparks, Senior Executive Director, Parent Community and Student Support Programs for Birmingham City Schools will lead the discussion.  Call 226-3630 for more information.

Don't miss these exciting programs!  And keep up to date on these and other events via the Health InfoNet of Jefferson County calendar of events (http://www.uab.edu/infonet/Calendar.htm).