Reviewing Hospice Care Options Seminar to be Held Nov. 6

Contact: Kevin M. Sanders, Writer/Editor, (740) 593-0896

ATHENS, Ohio (October 25, 2000) -- When a patient has reached the end-stage of a chronic disease most doctors give up. But hospice programs offer comfort-based care to these patients for the last few months of their lives.

Tracy Marx, D.O., will present "An Overview of Hospice Programs" from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Nov. 6 at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital, Room B-9.

"Hospice is a philosophy of care for the terminally ill patient which is carried out by an interdisciplinary team of physicians, social workers, chaplains and others. The emphasis is on quality life and focuses on pain and symptom control as comfort care when aggressive curative care is no longer appropriate," Marx said.

Marx has been a volunteer medical director for the local hospice for the past five years. She provides hospice care and consultation to terminally ill area patients.

"Death and dying are a natural part of life, but our society, including doctors, is uncomfortable dealing with them." Marx is an assistant professor of geriatric medicine at Ohio University College of Osteopathic Medicine (OU-COM), chief of staff at Doctors Hospital in Nelsonville and an attending physician at O'Bleness Memorial Hospital. Health-care professionals and members of the public are invited to attend the seminar. Brown bags are welcome. For more information, call the Geriatric Education Center at (740) 593-2258.

This seminar is part of OU-COM's fall 2000 continuing education series on geriatric medicine and gerontology. Seminars are held from noon to 1:00 p.m. on the first and third Mondays of each month in O'Bleness Memorial Hospital Room B-9.

Lea Blackburn will present "Multicultural Aging" Nov. 20. Winter seminars begin Dec. 4 with Caroline Gibson's presentation of "Occupational Therapy and the Older Adult."

Past seminars in the fall series were "Alzheimer's Pahtophysiology and New Treatment Developments," "Controversies and Considerations of Medical Nutrition Therapy in Management of Diabetes and Hypertension in the Elderly" and "Common Foot and Nail Disorders in Older Individuals."

"The seminars are designed for an interdisciplinary audience," said Ellen Peterson, R.N., geriatric education coordinator. "Health professionals from the community regularly attend, in addition to interns, residents and medical students. Members of the public are welcome as well, and the diversity of disciplines represented by the participants makes for an interesting exchange of ideas."

The sponsors of the seminars include the Department of Geriatric Medicine/Gerontology, the Western Reserve Geriatric Education Center and Area Health Education Center and OU-COM.

Peterson said the seminar series was started by a federal grant that established OU-COM as a contributing site to the Western Reserve Geriatric Education Center in September 1994 and has supported many continuing education programs. Provided by the Department of Health and Human Services, the grant supports educational programs in geriatrics and gerontology for physicians, nurses, social workers, counselors and health-care providers to 22 Southeastern Ohio counties.