Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care

Bioethics Bulletin

October 1998
Volume Five, Number Ten

Co-Directors: Gerald Logue, MD and Stephen Wear, PhD
NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS

Associate Director: Jack Freer, MD
Research Associates: Adrianne McEvoy and Larry Torcello
Address: Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care
Veteran's Affairs Medical Center
3495 Bailey Avenue Buffalo, NY 14215

Telephone: 862-3412 FAX: 862-4748
Website: http://wings.buffalo.edu/faculty/research/bioethics/
Send E-mail to: Wear@acsu.buffalo.edu. NOTE NEW E-MAIL ADDRESS

Newsletter Distribution

This newsletter can be delivered to you via e-mail or fax or over the internet (forward your request to: Jack Freer, MD at: jfreer@buffalo.edu). If you prefer fax, call 862-3412 and leave your fax number. We encourage and appreciate the use of e-mail and fax distribution rather than paper for the newsletter.

Center Listservers

The Center now maintains two automated e-mail listservers. BIOETH-LIST is primarily designed for those in the Greater Buffalo area and permits subscribers to post to the list. This list is available for posting local announcements, as well as a medium for discussion of relevant topics. It will also distribute the Center newsletter, "Bioethics Bulletin." If you are on this list, you can send a message to the entire list by addressing the message to: BIOETH-LIST@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu. Archives of old BIOETH-LIST messages are maintained at: http://listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu/archives/bioeth-list.html

BIOBUL-LIST is strictly used for distribution of "Bioethics Bulletin" and is mainly for those outside of Western New York. If you have further questions about this service, contact Jack Freer at 887-4852 or at: jfreer@buffalo.edu.

Upcoming Center Meetings

The Center currently has three committees: Community Affairs, Education and Research. All Center members are welcome to participate in these committees.

Reading Group

The Center's Reading Group will reconvene on Wednesday, October 21. Jack Freer will discuss the article by Jay Katz. "Why doctors don't disclose uncertainty." Hastings Center Report. 14(1): 35-44, 1984 Feb.

In this segment from his book, The Silent World of Doctor and Patient, Katz examines physicians' reluctance to admit to uncertainty or to discuss it with patients. He sees this disregard or denial of uncertainty as one of the ways in which physicians impose order on complex and inexact situations.

The meeting will be held at the Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. For further information, contact Tim Madigan at 636-7571, ext. 218.

Workshop on Business and Ethics

This year's Interdisciplinary Workshop on Business and Ethics will be held on Friday, October 2 at the Center for Tomorrow, SUNY-Buffalo Amherst Campus, 8:30 AM - 4:15 PM. Three topics will be discussed: Sexual Harassment; Ethics, Money, and Art; and The American Health Care Delivery System. Speakers include: Professor Lucinda Finley, SUNY-Buffalo School of Law; Jill K. Bond, JD, Corporate Counsel, Rich Products Corporation; Dr. Mark Kristal, Acting Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, SUNY-Buffalo; David Anderson, President and Founder, Anderson Galleries; Frank Colantuno, President and CEO, Independent Health; and Thomas C. Rosenthal, MD, Professor and Chair, Dept. of Family Medicine, SUNY-Buffalo. Registration cost: $15.00. For details, contact Dr. Robert Chatov, phone: 645-3277; fax: 645-3823; e-mail: chatov@acsu.buffalo.edu.

Upcoming Lectures

Saturday, October 3-Monday, October 5. "Communicating Science", a conference at Hamilton College. The goal of the program is to examine the mechanisms by which science is communicated to various audiences and consider the outcomes and consequences of this interaction. Information and registration material can be obtained at the conference website: http://www.hamilton.edu/www/communicatingscience/ or directly from the conference director, Jinnie M. Garrett, Hamilton College, Department of Biology, 198 College Hill Road, Clinton, New York 13323; telephone: 1-315-859-4716; e-mail: jgarrett@hamilton.edu.

Friday, October 9. "Corporate Ethics for Health Care Leaders." 9:00 AM - 4:00 PM. Dunleavy Hall, Niagara University. The conference is designed to address critical questions and issues confronting executives responsible for leadership, direction and decision making in health care. Speakers include: Brian O'Toole, PhD, Director of Ethics, Mercy Health Services; Leonard Weber, PhD, Director of the Ethics Institute, University of Detroit Mercy; and Monsignor Charles Fahey, Director of the Third Age Center of Fordham University. Cost: $85.00. For details, write to: Special Events Coordinator, Niagara University, PO Box 2008, Niagara University, New York 14109.

Thursday, October 15-Sunday, October 18. "Crossing the Boundary, Crossing the Line: Oral History on the Border." Oral History Association 1998 Annual Meeting. Hyatt Regency Hotel, Buffalo. The conference will present more than seventy panels, a dozen workshops, and a number of performance pieces and documentary showings. Topics include migration, ethnic and gender identity, relationships in interviewing, interdisciplinary, comparative, and transnational issues, ethical and legal boundaries, classroom use, oral history and new technologies. Registration cost: $90.00. For further information, please contact: Oral History Association, PO Box 97234, Baylor University, Waco, Texas 76798-7234; phone: 254-710-2764; fax: 254-710-1571; e- mail: oha_support@baylor.edu.

Thursday, October 15. "Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine: Role of the Physician in Palliative Care." Dr. Mark Lema, Chief of Anesthesiology and Pain Medicine. 3:00 PM. Cary Meeting Room, Research Studies Center, Roswell Park Cancer Institute. For further information, call Linda Beverage, Education Office, 845-2300.

Thursday, October 15. The Sixth Annual Alloway Lecture and Opening Plenary Session of the 10th Annual Canadian Bioethics Society Meeting will be held from 7:00 - 8:30 PM (reception to follow) in the Churchill Ballroom at the Delta Chelsea Hotel (33 Gerard Street West) in Toronto. The lecture will be given by Dr. James F. Childress (Kyle Professor of Religious Studies and Professor of Medical Education, University of Virginia), and is entitled "The Failure to Give: Ethical Barriers to Obtaining Organs for Transplantation." The purpose of the Alloway Lecture is to bring to the University of Toronto an expert of international stature in bioethics whose approach is foundationally based on Judeo- Christian principles. For more information, contact Margot Smith (e-mail: margot.smith@utoronto.ca), fax: 416-978-1911; telephone: 416-978-0871.

Friday, October 23. "The Coin of Life: Evolution or Extinction?" A discussion of the necessary role which mass extinction has played in organic development, and its implications for our own species. Speakers: H. James Birx, professor of anthropology, Canisius College, and Tim Madigan, editor, Free Inquiry magazine. 8:00 PM. Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. For information, call Tim Madigan at 636-7571, ext. 218.

Monday, October 26. The Institute of Human Relations of the American Jewish Committee of Western New York is honoring Dr. Evan Calkins, Linda C. Duffy, PhD, Dr. Jerome P. Kassirer, Dr. Frederick E. Munschauer III, and Dr. Theodore I. Putnam at the Institute's Awards Banquet, at 6:00 PM at the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Dr. Kassirer, editor-in-chief of the New England Journal of Medicine will speak on "The Evolving Ethics of Medicine." For further information, contact Marlene Glickman at 877-6234; e-mail: glickmanm_acj@compuserve.com ; fax: 877-7362.

Friday, October 30. "Palliative Care at the Brink of the Millennium: Hospice, Pain Management, and Palliative Medicine." 8:00 AM - 1:00 PM, The Center for Hospice and Palliative Care's Education Center, 225 Como Boulevard, Cheektowaga. Speakers: Balfour M. Mount, CM, OQ, MD, FRCS, LLD, Director, Palliative Care Medicine and Professor of Surgery at McGill University, and Russell Portenoy, MD, Chair of the Department of Pain Management and Palliative Care at Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City. Registration is $55.00 per person and includes a continental breakfast, breaks, and materials. Call the Life Transitions Center at 836-6460 by October 23 to attend.

Saturday, October 31. "Houdini and the Spirits." 8:00 PM. Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. A commemoration of the 72nd anniversary of Harry Houdini's death. Sponsored by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal, the event will focus on Houdini's later career, particularly as a crusader against fraudulent spirit mediums. There will also be a sance - part of the longstanding attempt (as yet unsuccessful) to contact the ghost of the celebrated prestidigitator and escape artist. The presentation will be by Joe Nickell, PhD, who was resident magician at the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame in Niagara Falls, Ontario from 1971-73. After the presentation, a Halloween bash and costume party will be held. The cost is $5.00. For details call Jo Ann Mooney, at 636-7571, ext. 330.

Thursday, November 5. "Ethical Issues Arising from Modern Reproductive Technology." Richard Taylor, Professor Emeritus of Philosophy, University of Rochester. 4:00 PM. Center for Inquiry, 1310 Sweet Home Road, Amherst. Call 636-7571, ext. 218 for further details.

Greater Buffalo Memorial Society Annual Meeting

The Greater Buffalo Memorial Society will hold its annual membership meeting on Sunday, October 18 at 2:30 PM, in the Parish Hall of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Buffalo, 695 Elmwood Avenue, Buffalo, New York. The topic is "Anatomical Gift Program", and the speaker is Dr. Raymond P. Dannenhoffer, Assistant Dean of Support Services for the School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at SUNY-Buffalo. Dr Dannenhoffer is also Director of the Gross Anatomy Lab. He has supervised the Anatomical Gift Program since 1987. Knowledge of anatomy is essential for physicians, dentists and other health professionals. The demand for body donations for teaching this information is great. Medical Schools across the country depend on the generosity of citizens to make their bodies available for this necessary education. Dr. Dannenhoffer will discuss the central role anatomy plays in medical education, and the process involved in body donation and whole body donations. This talk is free and open to the general public. For further information, call 837-8636.

Hospice News

"Partners in Palliative Medicine: Blending the Cultures of Hospice and Nursing Home Settings," a full day conference, will be held Thursday, October 8 at the Center for Hospice and Palliative Care, 225 Como Park Boulevard, Cheektowaga. Long term care administrators, medical directors, internists, family practice physicians, Hospice physicians, nurses, social workers, pastoral caregivers, therapists, volunteers, and students are all invited to attend. Howard Tuch, MD, director of Palliative Care Services at Genesis ElderCare will provide the keynote speech on "Palliative Medicine in Nursing Homes and the Challenge of Pain and Symptom Management." Bruce Naughton, MD, chief of the Division of Geriatrics at Buffalo General Hospital, will discuss ethical issues in care of the elderly in the nursing home setting. Following a buffet lunch, Cherry Meier, RN, MSN, director of Public Affairs at VITAS Healthcare Corporation, will present on "Care Planning: A Communication Challenge Between Hospice and Nursing Home Staff." J. Donald Schumacher, PsyD, president and CEO of CHPC, will talk about psychosocial care of the terminally ill nursing home resident. Registration for the 9 AM - 4:00 PM conference is $45.00 and includes a continental breakfast, buffet lunch, materials, and breaks. A $200.00 group rate for 6 registrants is also available. The deadline to register is October 2. Call 836-6460 for more information or to register. Continuing education for nurses, nursing home administrators, and social workers is pending. The conference is jointly sponsored by the ACCME-accredited SUNY-Buffalo School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences for up to 5.5 Category 1 credits toward the AMA's Physician Recognition Award. For further information, call 686-8259.

Conference on Ethics and Health Care

The University of Virginia Olsson Center for Applied Ethics and the Center for Biomedical Ethics will be sponsoring a conference on "Organization Ethics and Health Care", September 25-26, at the Jordan Hall Conference Center, Charlottesville, Virginia. Presentations will address the relation between professional ethics, business ethics, and clinical ethics in today's rapidly changing health care environment. The $50.00 registration fee will include a dinner reception at the University of Virginia's Rotunda. For information, contact: Patricia Werhane, PhD, Darden School, Box 550, Charlottesville, Virginia 22906; phone: 804-924-4840; fax: 804-924-6378; e-mail: Phw2m@virginia.edu.

Conference on Psychiatric, Psychosocial and Ethical Issues in Organ Transplantation

The Cleveland Clinic Foundation will host a conference focusing on psychiatric, psychosocial and ethical issues in organ transplantation, with special reference to organ donation. Speakers include: George Agich, Steven Miles, Robert Arnold, Stuart Youngner and Claude Earl Fox. The conference will occur on October 2-4, 1998 at the Cleveland Marriot Hotel. Registration is $375. For further information, contact Dr. George Agich, Dept. Of Bioethics, Cleveland Clinic.

Conference on Health Care

The Brookings Institution and Walden Institute for Learning and Leadership are presenting a conference entitled "Tomorrow's Health Care: Crossing Boundaries... Finding Solutions", October 18-20, 1998, The Registry Resort, Naples, Florida. It will focus on health care financial trends, and consolidation and quality of care as a competitive issue. Speakers include Mark Goldberg, Distinguished Faculty Fellow, Yale University School of Management; David Satcher, Surgeon General of the United States; Judy Feder, Professor for Health Care Research and Policy, Georgetown University; and Judy Hippler Bello, Executive Vice President for Policy and Strategic Affairs, Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. The conference fee is $1,500 ($1,395 for registrations posted before August 15). For information, call 1-800-237-6434; online registration: www.waldeninstitute.com.

Conference on Ethics and Professionalism in Managed Care

The National Institutes of Health will sponsor a conference regarding the key professional and ethical issues raised by managed care. This will occur on October 30-31, 1998 at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Washington, D.C. Speakers will include: Edmund Pellegrino, Haavi Morreim, Ezekiel Emanuel, Norman Daniels, and Gail Povar. Registration fee is $450. For further information, contact Gary Wackernah, Conference Coordinator: 703-902-1264; email: bioethics@circsol.com

National Ethics Conference

"Research and Decisional Capacity: Responding to the National Bioethics Advisory Commission Report." November 13-15, 1998, Baltimore Marriott Inner Harbor, Baltimore, Maryland. For information, contact: Friends Research Institute, Inc., 8706 Commerce Drive, Suite 1, Eaton, Maryland 21601; phone: 410-763-7620; fax: 410-763-9621; e-mail: info@gbhap.com.

Call for Papers

The Association for Moral Education invites submissions for its 24th Annual International Conference, "Informal Influences on Moral Development: Family, Faith, Media, and Community." The conference will convene at Dartmouth College, Hanover, New Hampshire, November 19-21. It will be organized around four informal moral influences: family, faith, media and community. The three-day conference will consist of a series of workshops, panels, poster sessions, paper presentations, and invited speakers. Presented papers are likely to include such topics as learning about justice through sharing in the family; the role of early moral emotions in the development of the child; parental authority and the rules of the family; culture, gender and morality; the dynamics of the family and its social significance for moral and religious development; religion, morality, and ego development; children, media and commodity culture; character, narrative and growth in Christian life; and the role of service learning in the building of community. For details on submissions and information on the conference, contact Wendy Conquest, Conference Coordinator Wendy.T.Conquest@Dartmouth.edu.

Members Corner

The Members Corner is designed to note research, presentations and published articles and books by Center members. Please send all such information to the newsletter editor so that the Center can keep members informed about the work occurring in this area.

Comments and Suggestions

Your comments and suggestions regarding this newsletter are encouraged. Please send them to the Center address, or by e-mail to the newsletter editor, Tim Madigan timmadigan@aol.com. We also need information on upcoming events that would be of interest to Center members. The deadline for the next newsletter is October 15th.