PeaceHealth's Gurpreet Dhillon, Director of Cancer Center, Palliative Care and Hospice will speak to the local League of Women Voters' Health Policy Committee and community guests at their regular monthly meeting.

Dr. Dhillon will address palliative and hospice care in the community; Advance Care Planning and Advance Directives in the framework of PeaceHealth's Honoring Choices Initiative.

The Palliative Care Institute has partnered with the Pickford Film Center to bring Defining Hope to Bellingham.

Defining Hope is a story about people weighing what matters most at the most fragile junctures in life, and the nurses who guide them. This documentary follows patients with life-threatening illness as they make choices about how they want to live, how much medical technology they can accept, what they hope for and how that hope evolves when life is threatened. It is optimistic and reminds us that we have choices in how we die.

Defining Hope, which won the Best Premiere – Documentary Feature at the Heartland Film Festival, grew out of the groundbreaking American Nurse book and film by Carolyn Jones, and another year of research and interviews focused on what Dying in America looks like. This new film, Defining Hope, is the culmination of that journey.

This movie is critical and relevant right now, with our rapidly aging population and incalculable challenges in healthcare and end-of-life care. We aren’t dying the way we used to. We have ventilators, dialysis machines, ICUs—technologies that can “fix” us and keep our bodies alive—which have radically changed how we make medical decisions. In our death-denying culture, no matter how sick we get, there is always “hope.” The will to live is a powerful force, and eventually we will all have to make individual decisions when faced with very complex choices.

Join us for the screening of this important documentary film about end-of-life choices and a post-film discussion with nurse leaders in our community.

                            Sarah Bear, Director, RN-BSN Nursing Program, Western Washington University.

                            Jodi Newcomer, Nurse Manager, Whatcom Hospice

                            Sharmon Figenshaw, Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner

Tickets are required. Seating is limited and this screening is likely to sell out, so purchase your tickets in advance at the link below.

The Palliative Care Institute is partnering with the Turtle Haven Community to bring Dr. Ravi Ranvindra to Bellingham.

Dr. Ravi Ravindra marries deep studies in both science and comparative religions to explore important questions of our age. In this community conversation, he will help us explore how holding an understanding of our own mortality can enrich our living.

Dr. Ravindra’s spiritual search has led him to the teachings of J. Krishnamurti, G. I. Gurdjieff, Zen, Yoga, and a deep immersion in the mystical teachings of the Indian and Christian classical traditions. He is the author of several books on religion, science, mysticism, and spirituality, including Whispers from the Other Shore: Spiritual Search--East and West, and Science and the Sacred: Eternal Wisdom in a Changing World.

Using these lenses, Dr. Ravindra will help us explore the questions that facing our own mortality brings to the surface, both personally and culturally.  Mainstream American culture has a paradoxical relationship with dying. On the one hand, our media focuses on death through violence and war, and on the other hand, although we are all moving toward death from the moment of our birth, we turn away from the intimacy of considering our own dying or the death of those we love.

Proceeds from this event will support other Palliative Care Institute community conversations.

Tickets in advance are $20.00 for adults, $10.00 for students.  At the door $25 for adults, $15 for students.   Use the registration link below to purchase advance tickets.  Scholarships are available for those with restricted incomes.  Contact pci@wwu.edu to request a scholarship code.

Dr. Ravindra will also be offering an in-depth exploration of these topics in a weekend retreat (October 20 and 21) at the Turtle Haven Sanctuary on the Nooksack River in Deming, WA.  This retreat will include reflection and discussion, guided meditations, sacred song and earth-based wanderings on the Path of Hope, shrine trail, the labyrinth, and the river’s edge.  For more information contact info@turtlehavensanctuary.com or call 360.303.3892

In partnership with the Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival, the Palliative Care Institute is hosting a screening of Care, a documentary film that pulls back the curtain on the poignant and largely hidden world of in-home elder care. 

Beautifully shot and deeply moving, the film reveals the deep bonds that form between paid care workers and elders while exposing the cracks in the U.S. care system. Through these personal stories, Care reveals the deep humanity and poignancy of care work, as well as the challenges faced by elders, their families and their care workers. It also reveals the beginning of a movement to improve how we care—both for the growing number of older adults and for those who make their lives livable.

This film will be following by a discussion lead by Marinel  Kniseley, author of Caring For The Qualified Life: Mexicana Certified Nursing Assistants In Bellingham, Washington and Marie Eaton, Director of the Palliative Care Institute.

This event is free, although donations to support the Bellingham Human Rights Film Festival are gratefully received.

“Tells a powerful tale of dedication…through the eyes of workers and clients caught in our woefully inadequate home health care system.”

– Cynthia Dagnal-Myron, Huffington Post

In this three session workshop series, we’ll begin writing legacy letters for ourselves and our heirs. These documents—ranging anywhere from a paragraph to a book in length—can include our favorite stories, our values and beliefs, and our hopes and tributes. In the process, we’ll have the opportunity to reflect on our lives and provide gifts for loved ones. That’s why one former participant told me, “These letters are such a great idea. I can’t believe I didn’t think of it myself!” And another person said, “I couldn’t sleep after the workshop because my head was so full of stories to tell. I blame you!” 

The three sessions will first focus on the past, writing our signature stories about ourselves and others and ways to use these stories to explain current values.  We’ll continue with explorations of our present beliefs and values, and we’ll move into the future, offering our hopes, blessings, and tributes. 

Session 1 The Past/Our Stories:          May 2, 2018        2:30-4:30 pm

Session 2 The Present/Our Values:     May 9, 2018        2:30-4:30 pm   

Session 3 The Future/Our Legacy:      May 16, 2018      2:30-4:30 pm       

Advance Registration required:  Limited to 15 people. $36.00 for the three sessions.  To register for workshop email pci@wwu.edu

All sessions in the Roots Room at the Cordata Community Food Cooperative. 315 Westerly Rd, Bellingham, WA 98226

Sponsored by the Palliative Care Institute (pci.wwu.edu) and facilitated by Margi Fox, who teaches professional writing at Western Washington University. Margi has given numerous workshops on legacy letters. In 2015, she presented a TEDx talk about wills: “The Afterlife of Wills: Why Legacy Matters.”

NOT IF BUT WHEN: BOOKS FOR YOUNG PEOPLE ABOUT DEATH AND LOSS

One in seven children lose someone important to them before they are 18, and yet, we often shy away from talking with children about death.

If you are worried about how to talk about death with children and youth, you’re not alone. Books provide a way to begin these conversations.

Representatives from the Palliative Care Institute, the Whatcom County Library System and Western Washington University Libraries have collaborated to share information about some of the books that address grief and loss.  

We’ll talk about developmental phases of grief through childhood and adolescence and share some of the ways books can be used successfully to open doors for conversations on these topics with children and youth.

This event is free and open to the public.

PRESENTERS:

Thom Barthelmess, Youth Services Manager, Whatcom County Library System

Sylvia Tag, Curator, Children’s Literature Collection, Western Washington University Libraries

Marie Eaton, Director, Palliative Care Institute, Woodring College of Education, Western Washington University

The Palliative Care Institute and the Northwest Life Passages Coalition invites you to participate in a community discussion about successes and challenges of Advance Care Planning initiatives in our community.

In 2014, a community task force wrote a Blueprint that outlines steps we need to take to make Whatcom County a community of excellence for those with serious illness or facing death and their families.  This Blueprint has 5 pillars:  Advance Care Planning, Clinical Care, Provider Education, Community Education and Activation and Policy/Sustainability.

The Northwest Life Passages Coalition has been given the responsibility of helping to implement this Blueprint.  As part of that goal, we are hosting community conversations about each pillar. Our intent is to share the progress that has been made, the challenges we still face and to listen to your ideas and concerns.

At this session, we will briefly share the current status of Advance Care Planning, outline some new initiatives and challenges that still need to be addressed.  We hope to spend the bulk of the session exploring your ideas and concerns so that we can continue to make progress toward our goal of supporting every adult in Whatcom County in planning for their own end-of-life choices and care. 

Some possible topics we might explore together include:

What are challenges have you faced in the Advance Care Planning Process?

What are your concerns about Advance Care Planning, and what do you need for us to do this work better?

When Advance Care Planning events are offered, primarily older, white, well-educated people show up.  What are some ideas for reaching out to other groups we are not yet serving well? 

What strategies might encourage my family/friends to have this conversation? 

The Palliative Care Institute and the Northwest Life Passages Coalition invites you to participate in a community discussion about successes and challenges of Outpatient Palliative Care initiatives in our community.

In 2014, a community task force wrote a Blueprint that outlines steps we need to take to make Whatcom County a community of excellence for those with serious illness or facing death and their families.  This Blueprint has 5 pillars:  Advance Care Planning, Clinical Care, Provider Education, Community Education and Activation and Policy/Sustainability. 

The Northwest Life Passages Coalition has been given the responsibility of helping to implement this Blueprint.  As part of that goal, we are hosting community conversations about each pillar. Our intent is to share the progress that has been made, the challenges we still face and to listen to your ideas and concerns.

At this session, we will briefly share the current status of Outpatient Palliative Care as part of the Clinical Care pillar in our community and outline some new initiatives and challenges that still need to be addressed.  We hope to spend the bulk of the session exploring your ideas and concerns so that we can continue to make progress toward our goal of building a robust outpatient palliative care option for those in our community facing serious illness or death. 

Some possible topics we might explore together include:

What are challenges have you faced in accessing outpatient palliative care?

What are your concerns about outpatient palliative care, and what do you need for us to do this work better?

What creative ideas might you have for addressing the current constraints?

The Palliative Care Institute and the Northwest Life Passages Coalition invites you to participate in a community discussion about successes and challenges of the Community Education and Activation initiatives in our community.

In 2014, a community task force wrote a Blueprint that outlines steps we need to take to make Whatcom County a community of excellence for those with serious illness or facing death and their families.  This Blueprint has 5 pillars:  Advance Care Planning, Clinical Care, Provider Education, Community Education and Activation and Policy/Sustainability. 

The Northwest Life Passages Coalition has been given the responsibility of helping to implement this Blueprint.  As part of that goal, we are hosting community conversations about each pillar. Our intent is to share the progress that has been made, the challenges we still face and to listen to your ideas and concerns.

At this session, we will briefly share the current status of Community Education and Activation in our community and outline some new initiatives and challenges that still need to be addressed.  We hope to spend the bulk of the session exploring your ideas and concerns so that we can continue to make progress toward our goal of building a community setting where everyone has access to the information they need in order to face serious illness or death. 

Some possible topics we might explore together include:

What are challenges have you faced in serious illness or end of life care? What community education events might have helped prepare you better?

What are some strategies for reaching out to communities we don't yet serve well?

What creative ideas might you have for building events that will foster community education, conversation and activation related to serious illness and end of life care?

What questions about death and dying have you been wanting to ask? What questions have you been afraid to ask? Can art-based investigations help us to think about death in new ways? …to  think about hope in new ways? How can an exploration of death help us to live life more fully?  

Join us for an all day workshop. Through a series of writing, movement, dialogue, and art-based exercises, we'll dive into these questions and open an honest conversation about death and dying.

The Facilitators:

Jenna Bean Veatch (MFA) is a multi-disciplinary artist, teacher, and facilitator who has been accused of creating "pure, unadulterated, heart-stopping whimsy." She makes dance-theater shows, stop-action animated music videos, delightful objects, and community gatherings designed to facilitate connection. She earned her MFA in Interdisciplinary Arts from the California Institute of Integral Studies and teaches classes on the creative process locally.

Sharmon Figenshaw (RN, MN, ARNP, ACHPN-BC) is a Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner working with families facing end-of-life transitions for almost 30 years. She is active in end-of-life community education and outreach, including state and nation-wide projects on advance directives and end-of-life choices. As a consultant, she supports people facing serious illness/ debility; she hopes to engage our community in conversations about how we embrace and care for those affected by illness or debility, including care of the dying.

Gracen Bookmyer is a senior at Fairhaven College with a concentration in End-of-Life and Palliative Care. She is a volunteer with WAHA, Hospice and sings with the Threshold Choir. Gracen is motivated to engage people in topics around death and dying because she sees it to be integral to living fully and believes it has tremendous potential for fostering connection with community. 

Cost: $65.00 (includes lunch). Pre-registration is required. Some discounted tuition spaces are available.  Email pci@wwu.edu to register or to request a discount.