Big Bend Hospice hosts 8th annual bereavement conference
Keynote speaker is an expert on end-of-life care By Sharon Davidson Special to Active Living
Big Bend Hospice will host its 8th Annual Professional Bereavement Conference at the Center for Economic Development, Tallahassee Community College, on Friday, Sept. 28. Early registration is $69 (discounts for students and multiple staff from the same agency.) The theme for this year’s event is Tapestries: Stories Woven of Love, Loss and Hope and will feature 12 workshops on various facets of grief. Registration includes breakfast, lunch, networking opportunities, and resource materials. Attendees can receive up to 6.5 CEUs and also participate in raffles held throughout the day. All proceeds will go towards Big Bend Hospice’s free community-based bereavement outreach. This year’s keynote speaker is Julie Patton a Licensed Clinical Social Worker who received her MSW from Bryn Mawr College in Pa. She recently retired after 20 years in hospice care. Patton speaks frequently in the community and at state and national conferences on topics related to the delivery and evaluation of end-of-life care. She has written an article on developmental issues at the end of life that was published in the American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine in September, 2006. She edited a handbook that won Awards of Excellence from both Florida Hospices and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization in
A spring benefit for Big Bend Hospice was held at Tallahassee Nurseries in May. On Sept. 28, Big Bend Hospice will host its 8th Annual Professional Bereavement Conference. DEMOCRAT FILES
2003/2004, as well as an Alzheimer’s curriculum that also won Awards of Excellence from both organizations in 20042005. Patton has presented many times at Florida Hospices Symposia, Alabama Hospices Conferences, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization Conferences, and at conferences for American Academy of Hospice and Palliative Physicians and the Florida Society of Oncology Social Workers. Big Bend Hospice is proud to welcome her as the keynote speaker at this year’s conference and believe that her expertise and insights will benefit those that that attend. “Professionals and peer counselors encounter those who are bereaved in a wide variety of settings including mental health, healthcare, law enforcement,
pastoral care, and education,” says Pam Mezzina, Bereavement Conference Coordinator and Manager of Big Bend Hospice’s Bereavement Services.” This conference will highlight creative assessment and interventions to help meet the unique needs of those who are grieving. In addition to the keynote address, other topics include therapeutic writing, Music Therapy, grief and youth, creative commemoration, Pet Loss, Grief in the African American Community and much more.” If you would like information about the conference or Big Bend Hospice’s bereavement services, contact Pam Mezzina at 850-878-5310, Ext. 799 or pam@bigbend hospice.org. Registration information is also available at www.bigbend hospice.org.
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