The overwhelming decisions patients and their families must grapple with as death nears, from the medical to the moral, will be the focus of a half-day conference at the C.W. Post Campus of Long Island University on Thursday, November 16, 2006.

“Dying in NY: Ethics and the Law in End-of-Life Decisions” will be held in Hillwood Commons Lecture Hall from 12:30 to 4:30 p.m. The conference is sponsored by Health Ethics Action Leadership (HEAL), a regional network of institutional and individual members who promote education in bioethics and provide a forum for those involved in clinical ethics in Nassau and Suffolk Counties. The Center on Aging within the Department of Health Care and Public Administration at C.W. Post serves as HEAL's headquarters.

Dr. Tia Powell, director of the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law, will deliver the keynote address on the Family Health Care Decisions Act, proposed legislation that would expand the authority of family members and others close to a patient to decide about treatment, including life-sustaining treatment.

Participants can choose from one of three sessions:

"Health Care Decision-Making: Legal Issues in the Continuum of Care" will be led by Beth Polner Abrahams, Esq. She will be joined by Beth Eggleton, Ph.D., associate director of the Center on Aging. A panel of experts will provide a case study and discuss the legal and ethical components of health care decision-making, including competency, health care proxies, living wills, incapacity and guardianship legal proceedings.

"Moral Distress: Empowering the Care Giver" will be presented by Terry A. Cavaliere, RNC, MS, NNP, and Joanne Turnier, MS, APRN, CT. In this workshop, the potential causes of moral distress will be explored. Discussions, case studies, education and support in dealing with situations of ethical ambiguity will be provided.

"Organizational Responses: Processes for Ensuring Legal Compliance and Ethical Practices" will examine the mechanisms health care organizations should have in place for addressing the ethical and legal dimensions involved in providing patient care, particularly life-sustaining treatment. Presenters are Edmond Giegerich, M.D., and Linda Vila, attorney, associate dean of the C.W. Post College of Management and assistant professor of health care and public administration.

Registration is required, $55 per person. For further information, contact the C.W. Post Department of Social Work at 516-299-3924 or e-mail HEAL@cwpost.liu.edu.

Posted: October 18, 2006