Message from the Chair
&
Executive Director
Kathleen M. Foley, MD (USA)
Liliana De Lima, MHA (USA)
Hello to all our readers once again.
As in the past months, we have several announcements:
Traveling Fellowship grants: We recently awarded the following grants under this program:
- Ms. Susan Breidal (Social Worker and Psychologist, Counselor Palliative Response Team at Victoria Hospice Society, Canada) is traveling next March to a rural hospital in Litein, in the Rift Valley of Kenya. Ms. Breidal is traveling with a larger group from Canada and working in partnership with the African Palliative Care Association to implement a palliative care program in a rural hospital. In this process the group will train 60 volunteers, establish psychosocial care, develop relationships, lay the groundwork for further training in palliative care and establish educational programs for future development.
- Dr John Cresswell (Sociologist, Senior Lecturer, St Helena Hospice, UK)
- Ms. Terry Magee (Nurse and Counselor, Director of Education, Myland Hall Education Centre, UK).
Both Dr. Cresswell and Ms Magee are now spending two weeks teaching workshop facilitation and clinical master class/staff support groups in Kumasi and Akosombo in Ghana.
Traveling Scholarship grants: We recently awarded support and travel for two palliative care workers from Latin America in order to attend and participate in the 3rd Congress of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care.
- Ms. Estela Jaime, volunteer coordinator, Programa de Cuidados Paliativos Fundacion FEMEBA , Argentina , and
- Ms Marlene Goyburu , Nurse, Palliative Care Program, National Cancer Institute, Peru.
Both will be presenting posters and participating in teaching sessions during the Congress
This issue of the IAHPC Newsletter also includes a report from Doctor Natalia Carafizi (Senior Medical Coordinator of the Hospice service, Chisinau, Moldova), who was awarded an IAHPC Traveling Scholarship grant to participate in a teaching seminar at the Budapest Hospice House in Hungary two months ago.
IAHPC Awards: As we mentioned in our past Newsletter, we received many applications to the IAHPC Recognition Awards. Due to the high volume of applications, the selection committees are still reviewing the applications. We are sorry for the delay and promise to announce the winners in our next Newsletter.
IAHPC Participation in Congresses and Meetings: This year we will participate in several meetings and sponsor teaching seminars and sessions to support other organizations which have recognized the importance of supporting palliative care in developing countries.
- The 2006 Annual Assembly of the American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine (AAHPM) in Nashville, USA on February 8-12. In partnership with the Open Society Institute (OSI), IAHPC is sponsoring a seminar on Palliative Care Education in Developing Countries. Panelists invited by IAHPC and OSI include Doctors Cynthia Goh from Singapore, Elizabeth Gwyther from Cape Town, South Africa, Cisio Brandao from Sao Paulo, Brazil and Penka Kolchakova from Plovdiv, Bulgaria. More information about this meeting is available in the website of AAHPM at www.aahpm.org
- The 3rd Congress of the Latin American Association for Palliative Care (ALCP) in Isla Margarita, Venezuela on March 22-25: IAHPC will sponsor three speakers to this Congress: Doctors Jorge Eisenchlas, palliative care researcher and specialist from Argentina; Cecilia Sepulveda, from WHO Cancer Control Program in Geneva and Dr. Emilio Herrera, from the Servicio Extremeno de Salud in Spain. Additional information about the congress: www.cuidadospaliativos.org
- The 4th Research Forum of the European Association for Palliative Care (EAPC) in Venice , Italy on May 25 -27. In partnership with EAPC, IAHPC is sponsoring a meeting to discuss strategies to improve and support palliative care research in developing countries. The meeting will address issues related to the special needs that palliative care workers face in developing countries in the development and design of research protocols and the challenges they face in putting them into practice. Participants include representatives of different regional and national organizations from developing countries and Europe . Additional information: http://www.eapcnet.org/
- The 42nd Annual Meeting of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) in Atlanta, USA on June 2 - 6. IAHPC will participate in the ASCO sponsored Patient Advocacy Booth in the Exhibition Hall. As in previous years, we look forward to seeing many oncologists who attend this meeting from all around the world. Additional Information about this meeting is at the following URL: http://www.asco.org/ac/1,1003,_12-002092-00_18-0012014,00.asp
- World Cancer Congress of the International Union Against Cancer (UICC) in Washington DC, USA on July 8-12. IAHPC is sponsoring a session called Integrating Palliative Care into National Health Policy and Programs: Models and best Practices and our panelists include Doctors Stein Kassa professor of Palliative Medicine at Trondhaim University in Norway; David Joranson, director of the Pain and Policy Studies Group at the University of Madison in Wisconsin and Robin Faisinger director of the Regional Palliative Care Program in Edmonton, Canada. Additional information about this Congress: http://www.2006conferences.org/u-index.php
- The 8 th World Congress of Psycho Oncology of the International Psycho Oncology Society (IPOS ) in Vienna, Italy on October 18-21 st. In partnership with IPOS, IAHPC is sponsoring a seminar on psychosocial palliative care across cultures. Panel participants include palliative care leaders from India, Hungary, USA and Africa. More information about the meeting in http://www.ipos2006.it/index.html
Additions to our Website:
- New Donation Section: We recently installed a new donation section in our website that includes information about our programs, options to donate and outlines the things we do. You can see it in https://www.hospicecare.com/give/
IAHPC is a small organization with limited resources, but we work hard to make sure that most of our funds are spent at the grass root levels and the monies are given to the individuals and programs in developing countries. Many thanks to all those who continue to support this great organization and for your contributions to IAHPC. Without your support we would not be able to help others.
- The Hasting Center - Improving End of Life Care Report has been added to our Resources Section, under Policy and Advocacy Tools. We invite you to visit this section and use the resources that are available for free.
We hope that IAHPC will continue being useful through its website and programs. If you have any ideas on how you think we may be more effective in reaching this goal, please send them to us.
Thank you for your readership,
Kathy Foley, MD
Chair, Board of Directors
Liliana De Lima, MHA
Executive Director
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