Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Hospice Seminar Slated For March 11, At Hope

Dying is something no one wants to think about, but is the one thing everyone has in common.

In many cases, a terminal disease makes life all but unbearable to the sufferer, who must, then, rely on hospice care.

Hospice programs help those suffering deal with their pain, and also offer support to the families of the patient, often giving them a chance to get out of the house and take a break.

On Tuesday, March 11, from 1:30-4:30 p.m. at Citizens National Bank in Hope, a seminar on hospice will be held.

Prescott Dr. Michael Young will open the seminar with the welcoming address. Dr. Young is also the Arkansas Department of Health Area V Hospice Medical Director.

A discussion on alternative therapies for pain symptom management will be given by Cliff Robertson, RPh, with Dr. Reed Thompson following with a talk about pain and palliative care for the terminally ill. Janet Dunn, RN and ADH Area V Hospice Specialist, will give the closing remarks.

Dr. Thompson is an assistant professor in the Donald W. Reynolds Department of Geriatrics at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS).

He is also the director of the combined palliative care service at UAMS and the John McClellan Memorial Veterans Administration Hospital in Little Rock.

His principal research interest is in the end of life education.

Robertson graduated from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville with a degree in biology and chemistry, followed by a bachelor's of science degree in Pharmacy at the UAMS School of Pharmacy.

He has more than 90 hours of education in compounding, with the majority being in pain and symptom management.

Though the target audience of this seminar is for doctors, nurses and social workers, it is open to the public at no charge.

However, reservations must be made by Tuesday, March 9. Those interested can register by calling the ADH Area V Hospice at (870)773-2108, or Robertson at (870)774-3666.