End-of-Life Certification Course: Accompanying the Dying Patient

Paul Langlois, APN, PhD, CCRN, CCNS, is a critical care clinical specialist in the surgical, medical, neurologic, burn, CCU, and trauma ICUs of Cook County Hospital, Chicago. Drawing on over 40 years of experience assessing and managing patients with life-threatening diseases, Dr. Langlois provides advanced-level training to nurses, physician assistants, nurse practitioners, respiratory therapists, and physicians. Dr. Langlois is committed to providing the highest quality of care to patients through advanced education. His presentations are evidence-based, timely, and provide participants with numerous case studies to facilitate critical thinking. As a bedside clinical nurse specialist, he has developed several institution-wide protocols for the multidisciplinary assessment and management of infectious disease and multi-system organ failure patients. His presentations are enthusiastically delivered and offer highly practical tips that help make the most challenging concepts easy to understand. Linking knowledge to clinical practice is the goal of every educational program.

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Fran Hoh, PhD, APN, CS, ACHPN®, is an advanced practice nurse who is passionate about end of life care. As such, her doctorate in health administration allowed her to focus her dissertation work on pain management. She currently practices in a hospital as the manager of the inpatient pain service, where she instituted the pain resource nurse program. In this role, Dr. Hoh has been responsible for educating hundreds of nurses to successfully advocate for improved patient pain management. Additionally, she has her own practice, Always Think Comfort, in which she provides palliative care services to patients in long term care facilities, with the goal of preventing unplanned and unnecessary hospitalizations. As one of the first trained ELNEC (End of Life Nursing Education Consortium) Trainers, Fran has trained nurses around the country in holistic end of life care. She presented the full day ELNEC course as a preconference at the national ASPMN (American Society of Pain Management Nurses) annual meeting for several years. She currently holds three national certifications, including: pain management, advanced practice nurse in hospice and palliative care, and as a clinical nurse specialist in adult nursing. Fran has received recognition for her numerous contributions: she received the Clinical Nurse of the Year award from the American Society of Pain Management Nurses and the Nurse Excellence Award from Overlook Hospital. As a published author and respected national presenter, she has a wealth of knowledge to share from her vast clinical experiences caring for end of life patients.

Lores Vlaminck, MA, BSN, RN, CHPN, LALD, has been a leading provider of consulting, training, and mentoring for hospice, assisted living, home care, and related health care providers for the past 17 years. She will cover issues related to both palliative care and hospice, including referrals, financial aspects, and barriers and benefits.

Liz Friedrich, MPH, RDN, CSG, LDN, FAND, NWCC, has more than 25 years of experience as a hands-on clinician in long-term care facilities and as president of Friedrich Nutrition Consulting, where she provides nutrition consulting services with a focus on gerontological nutrition.

Lois A. Fenner McBride, RN, MS, JD, Attorney at Law, is a Certified Clinical Specialist (Psychiatric) and a founding member of The American Association of Nurse Attorneys. Her law practice focuses on medical and healthcare litigation and consulting: including medical malpractice, wrongful death, risk management, and professional boards/licensures.

Latasha Ellis, PhD, LCSW, LISW-CP, OSW-C, is a licensed clinical social worker, entrepreneur, and educator with over 24 years of post-graduate experience in the field of medical social work and mental health. For over 16 years, she has committed her career to working in an acute care hospital serving patients with chronic illness, more specifically patients with end stage renal disease, cancer, cardiac disease, and chronic lung disease. During her tenure, she developed the hospital’s psychosocial oncology program, which provides programs and services to assist oncology patients in adjusting to the emotional challenges of a cancer diagnosis. Currently, Dr. Ellis serves as a regional mental health director for a national advanced primary care company. In this role, she works closely with primary care providers to develop collaborative care programs to help patients manage chronic illness, understand advanced care planning, and bridge the gap between physical and emotional health. Dr. Ellis values the impact of culture on healthcare practices, outcomes, and the patient-provider relationship. Her research titled, Culture into Practice: African American Doctor-Patient Dyad, explored the subjective experience of African American general practitioners as they treated same race patients with depression. In addition to her clinical experience, Dr. Ellis is a faculty member at the University of North Carolina – Charlotte. She has also presented live seminars on topics like “Managing Challenging Patient and Family Behaviors” and “Challenging Geriatric Behaviors.” Dr. Ellis holds a Bachelor of Social Work (BSW) from Morgan State University, a Master of Social Work (MSW) degree from the University of Maryland at Baltimore, and a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from the Institute for Clinical Social Work in Chicago, Illinois. Dr. Ellis also holds a certificate of clinical supervision from the National Association of Social Workers, a certificate in integrated behavioral health in primary care from the University of Michigan Social Work.

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Nancy Joyner, RN, MS, APRN-CNS, ACHPN® is a nationally recognized consultant, speaker, educator and author. As a Palliative Care Clinical Nurse Specialist, she works as the palliative care specialist disseminating awareness and education regarding palliative care statewide. Nancy has over 40 years of nursing proficiency that includes 17 years as an advanced practice nurse in palliative care. Nancy is an End-of-Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) trainer. She has had training through the Center to Advance Palliative Care (CAPC). Nancy created numerous CME sessions on palliative care for the University of North Dakota’s Project ECHO and is involved with the Dakota Geriatric Workforce Enhancement Program. She has presented and published at local, state, and national levels. She has researched and published articles on POLST and advance care planning. Nancy is an ambassador for the Serious Illness Community of Practice, Ariadne Labs. She is currently president of Honoring Choices® North Dakota, North Dakota’s POLST Program Coordinator and co-creator of the HCND ACP Facilitator Certification Course.

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Ligia M Houben, MA, FT, FAAGC, CPCRelated seminars and products My Meaningful Life Ligia M. Houben, MA, FT, FAAGC, CPC, is a Fellow in Thanatology and a Fellow of the American Academy of Grief Counseling. Ligia is an international grief specialist and author, and she has devoted her life to help others transform their losses and their lives. A pioneer in working with Hispanic people and grief, Houben is the author of Counseling Hispanics through Loss, Grief, and Bereavement: A Guide for Mental Health Professionals (Springer, 2011). Ligia has presented about the needs of Hispanic people in times of loss on many occasions, including to the Association for Death, Education and Counseling (ADEC), the Baptist Health System and the International Death, Grief, and Bereavement Conference at the University of Wisconsin, La Crosse. She contributed to the creation of the first bereavement support group in her native country of Nicaragua, PUDE – an anagram for Personas Unidas en el Dolor y la Esperanza (People Joined by Pain and Hope), and for nine years, she co-trained Hispanic people to become facilitators in bereavement support groups in churches. Ligia M. Houben is a former adjunct professor of Florida International University, Miami Dade College, and Kaplan University, where she taught courses on ethics, religion, and death and dying. She is the founder of My Meaningful Life, LLC. and the Center for Transforming Lives in Miami, Florida. Ligia has delivered her message to audiences ranging from corporations, educational institutions, and health care organizations, including Baptist Health System Florida, Jackson Memorial Hospital, University of Miami Hospital and Vitas Healthcare. She has appeared on numerous radio and television programs, airing on networks such as CNN Español, NPR, NBC and Univisión.

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Steven Atkinson, PA-C, MS, is a board-certified Physician Assistant specializing in Geriatric Internal Medicine. He practices medicine in the greater Minneapolis area. In addition to his private practice, he has been on the faculty at the University of Utah since 1994 and has been involved in medicine for over 30 years. Steven is the co-founder of Twin Cities Physicians, which serves older adults at nearly all levels of their care. He has presented nationally for over 15 years, primarily speaking about geriatric-related syndromes.