Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care
Bioethics Bulletin
Editor: Tim Madigan
March 1995
Volume Two, Number Three
Mission Statement
The Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care is
devoted to the enterprise of supporting and enhancing the dialogue
regarding ethical and humanistic issues in health care in the Western
New York area. Its constituency includes members of area institutions
of higher learning as well as health care providers and the
institutions they practice in. Close coordination with hospital ethics
committees as well as academic programs and research enterprises will
be pursued. A monthly newsletter, monthly grand rounds and other
lectures, and the development of research and reading groups, will be
basic tactics in facilitating dialogue in the area. Membership is open
to all.
The Center Office
For further information, please contact Lisa Bolten, the Center's
secretary. The telephone number is 862-3412, FAX 862-3679. Mail should
be sent to:
The Center for Clinical Ethics and Humanities in Health Care
c/o Gerald Logue, M.D. & Stephen Wear, Ph.D., Co-Directors
VAMC, 11th Floor
3495 Bailey Avenue
Buffalo, New York 14215
E-mail sent to Lisa Bolten
LBolton@ubmedc.buffalo.edu.
Participant Data Sheets
The Center would like to identify the basic interests of potential
participants as well as identify those who may be willing and able to
assist with the development of the Center and its enterprises. If you
have not filled out a participant data sheet, please contact us at the
address above and we will send one to you.
Faxes and E-Mail Addresses
The Center is collecting fax numbers and e-mail addresses of
individuals on its mailing list, to help make it possible to send
information more quickly. If you have not yet done so, please relay
this information to Lisa Bolten at 862-3412.
Upcoming Meetings
Health Care Policy Committee
The next meeting of the committee will be on Monday, March 27, at 8:00
AM in Room 1104-1 at the VA Medical Center. There will be a discussion
on the responsibility of individual providers to patients within
managed care, and whether new ethical guidelines need to be developed
regarding professional conduct in these areas. For details, contact
William Coles, MD at 898-3316.
Community Affairs Committee
The committee will meet on Tuesday, April 4 at 4:00 PM in the board room
(third floor) of the Erie County Medical Center. Future planning for Grand
Rounds and an Ethics Committee Orientation Program will be discussed. The
meeting is open to anyone interested in joining the committee. For details,
contact Karen Maricle, RN at 898-3101.
Community Affairs Committee Grand Rounds
The Community Affairs Committee will be sponsoring an ongoing series of
bioethics grand rounds at area hospitals on a monthly basis. All Center
members are encouraged to attend.
"Do Not Resuscitate Orders in Pre-Hospital Care." A panel discussion
with legal representatives, township residents, politicians, primary
care physicians, emergency medical personnel, and others. Speakers
include Mary Ferguson, JD and the Rev. David Donner. Wednesday, March
22, 8:00 AM. St. Joseph's Hospital, New Community Room. For
information, please contact Pat Lonergan at 891-2400.
"Sending Mixed Messages: A Family's Perspective." Facilitator: Norm
Chassen, MD. Thursday, April 27, 7:45 AM-9:00 AM. Kenmore Mercy
Hospital. For information, please contact Sister Sally Maloney at
828-2023.
"Topic to be Announced." Thursday, May 25, 8:00 AM. Sheehan Memorial
Hospital. For information, please contact John Zoll, MD at 885-3736.
There will be details on the meeting in the April newsletter.
Upcoming Lectures
"HIV, Litigation, and Privacy Laws: How They Affect Bloodbanks,
Hospitals, Physicians, and Other Providers," Joseph Kelly, PhD, JD,
associate professor of business, Buffalo State College. Millard
Fillmore Department of Medicine Grand Rounds, Monday, March 6, 8:45 AM.
Gates Circle, Webster Hall. For information, contact Jack Freer
at 862-6611.
"Medical Legal Issues." Presenter: William Dillon, MD. City Wide Grand
Rounds. Sponsored by the UB School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences
through the Department of Gynecology/Obstetrics. Erie County Medical
Center, Amphitheater. Wednesday, March 22, 10:30 AM. Approved for 2.0
hours of AMA/PRA Category 1 credit. For information, contact Patty
Korta at 898-3656.
"An Historical Perspective on the Development of Lung and Heart
Transplantation." Dr. James Hardy, Professor Emeritus, University of
Mississippi School of Medicine. Alpha Omega Lecture. Thursday, March
23, 7:30 PM. UB South Campus, Butler Auditorium, Farber Hall. An
informal reception in the atrium lounge on the lower level will follow
the lecture.
"The Importance of Medical Ethics as an International Endeavor."
Solomon Benatar, MD, professor of Medicine and head of the Ethics
Center, University of Capetown. Wednesday, March 29. Great Hall,
Centre for Bioethics, Toronto. For information, contact Carol
Nash at (416)-978-2709.
"The Courage To Heal", a workshop led by Joan Borysenko, PhD. Sponsored
by Hospice Association Lecture Series. Saturday, April 1, 9 AM-4 PM.
Hospice Mitchell Campus, 225 Como Park Boulevard. Registration fee is
$85.00. Deadline for registration is March 22. For information, please
call 836-6460.
"Advance Directives: Untangling the Web," A Continuing Education
Program for Nurses. Wednesday, April 5. Room 301, VAMC. For
information, contact Nursing Education, 834-9200, ext. 2430.
"Ethics and Health Care Reform," at Rochester Institute of Technology.
April 6-8. The keynote speaker will be New York Senator
Daniel Patrick Moynihan. For further information, contact Dr. Wade
Robison at 716-475-6643. Fax: 716-475-7120. E-mail: wlrgsh@rit.edu.
"Language and Culture Contact in the Medical Clinic." Deborah DuBartell,
Ph.D Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and SUNY Buffalo, Monday, April 10,
9:00 AM. UB South Campus, Health Sciences Library, Roswell Park Room. This
talk describes an on-going research project in language planning in the
small medical clinic setting. The goals of this project are to assist
immigrants and refugees to become linguistically independent and to
facilitate interactions between English-speaking healthcare providers and
non-English- speaking internationals (the dynamics of the interactions,
problems related to language and culture contact, the strategies implemented
at the clinic and the impact of language attitudes). For information,
contact Jack Freer, MD at 862-6611.
BASAH Interdisciplinary Research conferecnce
UB Center for the Study of Biobehavioral and Social Aspects of Health
(BASAH) Presents: "Women's Health: Science and Politics." March 25, 8:45 AM
at the Sheraton Inn, 2040 Walden Ave. The keynote speaker will be: Judith H.
LaRosa, PhD, RN, FAAN (Clinical Professor of Public Health at Tulane
University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in New Orleans, LA)
Dr. LaRosa previously served as Deputy Director of the Office of Research on
Women's Health, NIH. Contact Christa Greenberg for further information
(716) 645-3426 .
Graduate Research Lecture Courses
Richard Hull, UB professor of philosophy, is facilitating a graduate
course in research ethics. The meetings are open to the public, and
should be of interest to people with a concern for medical ethics. All
meetings will be held at the UB South Campus, Butler Auditorium, Farber
Hall, from 5:15-7:15 PM. The March schedule is as follows:
Thur. March 9: "Background to the Use of Human Subjects in Research."
Richard Hull.
Thur. March 23: "Deception in Research: The Lumpectomy-Mastectomy
Study." Donald Marquis, PhD, Philosophy, University of Kansas.
Thur. March 30: "Scientific Misconduct: Fraud and Plagiarism." David
Triggle, PhD, Dean, UB School of Pharmacy.
Center On-Line
The Center has organized a number of different projects in the area of
electronic communication. These include e-mail distribution of the
newsletter as well as e-mail transactions of Center-related business.
Dr. Jack Freer is the project coordinator for the two Internet
information services:
Medical School Gopher
The Center was provided the opportunity to play a significant role in
developing an internet Gopher Server for the School of Medicine and
Biomedical Sciences. This system is designed to provide an academically
oriented source of information for the University community and beyond.
In particular, a need was identified for reliable information about the
legal environment for making medical decisions in New York State. To
further this goal, documents were obtained from various governmental
agencies, including the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law,
and the New York State Assembly Health Committee. The Center Gopher
will therefore be a unique source of information about New York
bioethics related law, accessible by anyone with internet capabilities
across the state.
Buffalo Freenet and NPTN
A second computer network has been established for those in the general
public who wish to learn more about biomedical ethics. Based in the
non-profit community-supported Buffalo Freenet, the "Biomedical Ethics
Center" went on-line in January of 1995. The information provided is
aimed at the lay community and includes practical information as well
as a "Question and Answer" area. By agreement with the National Public
Telecomputing Network (NPTN), the Center will be the worldwide node for
the Network's biomedical ethics Q & A area.
For details on how to logon to these services, contact Jack Freer at
JFreer@ubmedb.buffalo.edu.
Call for Papers
The deadline has been changed for the "Ethics, Medicine and Health
Care: An Appraisal of the Thought of H. Tristram Engelhardt." The new
deadline is April 3. Abstracts of papers, panel and poster sessions
relating to Engelhardt's overall work are being invited. Mail or fax
abstracts to Brendan Minogue, PhD, Director, Ethics Center, Youngstown
State University, Youngstown, OH 44555-1465. FAX: 216-742-2304. The
conference will be held on Friday September 29 through Saturday,
September 30, 1995 at Youngstown State University. For information,
call 216-746-7211.
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 March 15th.