VeNews February 22, 2002

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Community Health Leadership Program Underway

Last month Vesper initiated a project supporting leadership in skilled nursing/long-term care, residential care, and affordable senior housing facilities. The project is conducted in collaboration with the California Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (CAHSA).

The project consists of monthly modules, usually including face-to-face sessions held in different locations in the community. The first two sessions have been completed. The third session, Geriatrics, Gerontology Trends and Issues, will be held at Laguna Honda Hospital in San Francisco in mid-March. The agenda for this session is indicative of the project's goal of incorporating values into daily management activities occurring in skilled nursing facilities.

The session begins with an overview of the field of ethnogeriatrics and the cultural competencies needed for working with older adults in long term care. This is followed immediately by examples of applying this knowledge in long-term case studies, including a case study of a multicultural adult day health program serving diverse elders.

The afternoon begins with a tour of the Asian focus units at Laguna Honda. The afternoon session deals with mental health issues. Again, case studies will be used to examine challenging behaviors of elders, including dementia, depression, and psychiatric disorders among residents in long - term care.

Module 4, held in mid-April, deals with Compassionate Care of the Dying. Project participants will learn that ethical decision-making in the care of dying patients is a dynamic process that requires reflection, discussion and evaluation in order to arrive at the best decision possible within a moral context.

The Community Health Leadership Program consists of eight modules and uses a variety of teaching approaches. Plans are underway to document the curriculum so that it can be applied in different locations. For more information about the project, contact info@vesper.org.
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Vesper Society is a private operating foundation with programs in leadership, health, and Central America. Our mission is to create opportunities for individuals, groups and organizations to apply moral and ethical values in decision making on social and economic issues. Contact us at www.vesper.org.