- Tina Tai Named Program Director
- New York 30-hour Hospice Volunteer Training Completed
- CACCC Helping Saint Francis Memorial Hospital Improve Palliative Care for Chinese Patients
- CACCC Bereavement Support Group to Begin Soon
- CACCC Doing Suicide Prevention Outreach
CACCC's 30-hour Hospice Volunteer Training was conducted for 45 volunteers in New York City between May 30 and June 2. The three and one-half day training was sponsored by the American Buddhist Confederation and the
China Buddhist Association.
This was the second training conducted in New York by the CACCC. In 2009, the CACCC provided training for health professionals representing the agencies listed below:
Alzheimer’s Association
Beth Israel
Brooklyn College
Center for the Asian Family, Bellevue Hospital
Chelsea Village Program, St. Vincent’s
Continuum Hospice
Doula to Accompany and Comfort
Gouverneur Heath Care Services
Metro Jewish Hospice
Mount Sinai Hospital
New York City Department of Aging
New York Down Town Hospital
New York Hospice
New York University Langone Medical Center
NY University College of Nursing
Parker Jewish Community Health Programs
Pax Christi Hospice
St Vincent’s Hospital
Visiting Nurse Service New York New York City Chapter
VNS Hospice Queens
VNSNY (Choice) Manhattan
美華慈心關懷聯盟 & 聖法蘭西斯紀念醫院
改善華人病患的緩和療護
Saint Francis Memorial Hospital將針對華人的緩和療護需求評估表，並針對院內醫事人員是否了解華人病患的問題，再設計一份之前與之後的問卷表。這二份表格均由美華慈心關懷聯盟擔任顧問提供諮詢和設計。
根據第一項的二份表格以及臨床觀察的結果，分析出病人與醫事人員之間的隔閡問題所在後，美華慈心關懷聯盟將為院內護士和相關工作人員提供訓練。
美華慈心關懷聯盟將會實際參與病人家庭小組會議，以為緩和療護小組及協調工作人員提供適當的諮詢；同時，美華慈心關懷聯盟也會與緩和療護協調人員一起工作，為療護小組在擬定融合華人文化與介入的策略中給予建議和評價。
美華慈心關懷聯盟也會個別了解緩和療護協調人員、口譯人員、專案經理以及社工人員，以便為院內或與醫院合作的在外療護機構提供如何服務華人病患及其家庭的資訊並做出建議來彌補隔閡。
美華慈心關懷聯盟會與緩和療護團隊（志工、靈性輔導師、口譯員、社工、專案經理及公關部）一起合作開發市場，深入華人社區提供生命末期療護和醫療事前照護指示方面的相關教育資訊。
美華慈心關懷聯盟提供講師開設粵語社區宣導
第一梯次預定於4月11日，名額30位。
報名專線: 415-353-6562
Tina Tai has been named the CACCC Program Director. Tina, a former CACCC Volunteer Coordinator, was appointed by the board in March and will now serve as a full-time CACCC employee. The Board is pleased to have Tina's experience and skill set on the management team and looks forward to a long and successful relationship.
Sandy Steps Down
October 30, 2012
Dear CACCC volunteers and Members,
My dedication to end of life care in the Chinese American community began in 1999 when I learned during my Dad’s year in ICU before he died that the Advance Health care Directive was not available in Taiwan and a DNR was illegal at that time (both are now available in Taiwan). Theywere available to Chinese Americans in the United States, but very few Chinese Americans were aware of this. I thought, “I couldn't do much to help my Dad, but at least I can do something to help people here.” As I set out to improve conditions surrounding death and dying, it quickly became clear that I was limited as an individual in what I could accomplish. Chinese Americans were making almost no use of hospice and few knew much about palliative care. Very few had completed an Advance Health Care Directive; most had not even heard of it. There were almost no materials in Chinese that covered end of life issues, and there was great resistance to discussing anything related to the impending death of a loved one. Existing health care agencies were struggling with how to serve Chinese patients with little knowledge of Chinese culture and few practitioners who could speak Chinese. End of life care Chinese-speaking volunteers were very hard to find, and those who were volunteering had limited training.
To cope with these obstacles, I decided on the following plan to improve end of life care for Chinese Americans:
I decided to form an organization whose structure could involve the entire community in this effort, a coalition of already-existing groups with resources that could help us make a difference. That coalition would naturally include Chinese health care agencies and those non-Chinese institutions who were already or could potentially serve Chinese Americans. In late 2005, I formed an advisory board consisting of a core group of Chinese health providers and volunteers to help set the parameters of the organization that would ultimately form the coalition. Since we began with no money, it was clear that our work had to be done by volunteers, and we began recruiting them. Committees were formed and tasks assigned. We needed people to do community outreach, translate and create educational materials, train respite and hospice volunteers and caregivers, educate health care professionals about how to best serve Chinese Americans, establish a campaign in the Chinese media and set up a website to get the word out, and write grants and raise funds to support our work. In 2007 the CACCC was incorporated and received its 501(c)(3) nonprofit status.
I had known that health care institutions and national organizations working with end of life issues were very interested in finding ways to serve under-represented groups, so I invited them to join the coalition. The response was extremely positive and eventually led to working partnerships with regional and national organizations, our participation in national EOL events and conferences, and ultimately to our receiving grants to fund our activities. We even received national awards. All these added to the stature of our organization, improving our ability to do our work in the community.
The CACCC has grown to include more than 80 affiliated agencies and more than 1,300 individuals who have either volunteered or participated in our work in some capacity. We now have three part-time contract staff positions to help us with the day-to-day work of the coalition. We have a resource office in Sacramento and are looking for a permanent location in the South Bay to serve as the CACCC headquarters. CACCC outreach and training has expanded from the San Jose area to San Francisco, Sacramento, the East Bay, and Los Angeles, and we have assisted Chinese organizations and hospitals, hospices and other community organizations serving Chinese patients in New York and Texas.
Two years ago, I added the goal of building up sufficient reserves to hire a full-time Executive Director (ED) so I could have a retirement life with my husband and concentrate on education and patient care as a CACCC volunteer. As a coalition, we have spent our money wisely, and accumulated significant reserves. When I decided to start this end of life movement, Phil and I knew it would require a great deal of time and that I would have to spend much of it in the South Bay, so we decided that I couldn’t continue to work full time. We thought that in a couple of years everything would be in place and I could step down and retire in Shingle Springs. While it has taken a bit longer than Phil and I initially expected, I think that the time has come. I am announcing my resignation from the Executive Director position now so we can begin the search for my replacement right away. I plan to formally resign when the new ED is in place. I will continue to serve the CACCC, concentrating on end of life education and patient care, and will assist the new executive director (ED) until he/she has settled in, but will no longer be involved in the day-to-day operation of the organization.
This has been a wonderful journey with wonderful people. I want to thank all of our volunteers, our board of directors, our partner agencies, grant providers, and members throughout the country and Taiwan for helping us crack the barriers to provide quality end of life care for the Chinese American community.
I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to share this experience with you.
座位有限 (50位)，美華慈心關懷聯盟的會員及義工可致電 866-661-5687 留言，或回信 admin@caccc-usa.org 預約訂位。
此次講座備有中英文同步翻譯及精美茶點，竭誠歡迎18歲以上的個人或家庭一同參加。
義工，機構代表，及美華慈心關懷聯盟工作人員在該聯盟北加州的第一屆華人安寧及緩和療護義工培訓畢業典禮上
第一屆《安寧緩和療護華語志工培訓》認證班畢業合照
(前排各聯盟機構與美華慈心關懷聯盟執行長、坐位第二排是講師團以及全體受訓志工和美華慈心關懷聯盟工作人員)
畢業生穿著美華慈心關懷聯盟新的義工T卹
『關愛生命 － 認識安寧療護』影片全長45分鐘，內容包括：介紹安寧緩和療護、生命末期的疼痛及症狀控制、兒童面對死亡、誰有資格申請安寧療護服務、哀傷輔導以及填寫 『醫療照護事前指示Advance Health Care Directive』與『維持生命治療醫囑POLST』醫療表格的重要性等等。擬定2010年11月起於全美醫院、醫療中心、教育機構及華人社區之各個官方網站公開播送。
本片由美國安寧療護基金會Hospice Foundation of America委託，美國聯邦及州醫療保險Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS)贊助，是一支專為全美華人構思的網路影片，並將成為第一支聯合全美主流療護單位、教育機構和社區組織等官方網站，共同播放的宣導影片。
專案執行阮人美與攝影工作人員
2月12日世界日報於舊金山舉辦35週年社慶，同時頒贈三個華人社區傑出貢獻單位，美華慈心關懷聯盟有幸成為票選單位之一。除了傑出貢獻服務獎以外，世界日報還贈與獎金3,500美元以資
2010年，美華慈心關懷聯盟與世界日報合作『美華慈心-生命關懷教育系列』專欄於每週一健康教育版及世界電子報刊登。世界日報係一擁有35萬發行量的國際性中文報紙。美華慈心關懷聯盟義工藍景嚴，負責這個專欄報導。我們非常感謝世界日報關懷生命末期療護推廣運動，並實際支持刊登系列專題報導及給予傑出貢獻服務獎，美華慈心關懷聯盟倍感榮幸。
藍景嚴
美華慈心關懷聯盟在此宣告，本聯盟的電子月刊《心連心》正式開始發行。月刊的名字來自印在義工T恤衫上的口號: 手牽手、 心連心， 善待生命的每一天.
月刊内容將包括義工的最新動態，即將舉辦的聯盟活動，正在進行中的項目詳情，以及提供社區工作機會和教育活動的鏈接。
此次活動總收入$412,000美元，美華慈心關懷聯盟身為受益單位之一，受贈$41,200美元的補助款，將悉數使用於關懷生命末期議題之教育和宣導活動上。
在2011年南北加州的《安寧緩和療護華語志工培訓》結業後，美華慈心關懷聯盟成立了《安寧緩和療護華語志工支持團體》來協助所有經過培訓的南北加州志工。我們將為南北加州二個支持團體舉辦一年四次，每次三小時的聚會。會議內容將包括志工經驗分享，個案討論，並由各聯盟合作單位的安寧緩和療護團隊提供志工再訓練的課程。當地的聯盟合作單位將會輪流提供會議場地。
各區志工協調人員:
北加州大灣區 : Cindy Wang 陳明芳，Alice Hwaun白瓊芳
薩加緬度地區: Tina Byrne葉家興
南加州: Sue Lo郭淑珺，Michelle Lin鄭淑冠
專為安寧緩和療護華語志工製作的《美華誌》月刊已正式推出
除了成立南北加州《安寧緩和療護華語志工支持團體》，美華慈心關懷聯盟的專案協調員Debbie Juan並負責推出了專為安寧緩和療護華語志工製作的第一期《美華 誌》月刊。
，第二階段於南加州Duarte市的「希望之城City of Hope National Medical Center」舉辦，31名培訓志工於3月19日順利結業。
由加州保健基金會贊助，美華慈心關懷聯盟策劃的《安寧緩和療護華語志工》培訓計劃，分為二個部份：一是3小時的安寧緩和療護機構專業醫事人員訓練講座；一是30小時的《安寧緩和療護華語志工》課程，並分別於北加及南加州舉辦。二地受訓結業的志工，將主要在17個聯盟機構中，服務說普通話及粵語的病患及家屬。
北加州《安寧緩和療護華語志工》培訓班於1月16日結業，受訓的34名志工計劃已陸續於聯盟機構內參與華人病患的服務工作。參與的志工們一致讚揚高美華慈心關懷聯盟品質的培訓。
《安寧緩和療護華語志工》培訓計劃經加州安寧緩和療護協會背書認可；並由安寧緩和療護護理協會給與持有護士執照的受訓志工時數認證。
美華慈心關懷聯盟執行長陳明慧
翻譯HPNA文宣品，是加州保健基金會給予的補助金之部分工作，美華慈心關懷聯盟正為《安寧和緩和療護護理學會》的三十篇有關生命末期的病人/家屬教育宣導說明書，進行中文翻譯，以加深大眾對安寧和緩和療護的瞭解和認識。此外，來自美國安寧療護基金會的補助款也要求美華慈心關懷聯盟以符合中華文化的筆法來翻譯4篇、各10個重點，家庭照顧須知、安寧和緩和療護、疼痛控制和哀傷輔導的教育文宣品。
2011年AARP授獎者
Maya Angelou
Joy Behar
Eve Behar Scotti
Sandy Chen Stokes
Tony Danza
Helene Gayle, M.D.
Pedro Jose Greer, M.D.
Lisa Niemi Swayze
Elizabeth Warren
Henry Winkler
美國安寧療護基金會前所未有的中英文通訊刊物- 『旅程』正式發行了，這份關於喪親、幫助喪親者家屬走出陰影的刊物，可在美國安寧療護基金會官方網站(www.hospicefoundation.org)上購買。
“盡我所能”- 作者是美華慈心關懷聯盟創辦人陳明慧和美華慈心關懷聯盟資深顧問Phil Stokes。這是一份為絕症病患家屬或朋友而設計的有關醫療決定方面的文宣。在這種情況下， “家屬質疑自己對病患至親所做的一切決定是否正確?”這是自然的，因為“做正確的事”，從來就無法以清晰的定義去界定。當家屬在至親、至愛的人離世之後，懷疑自己是否為他們做出 “正確”的醫療決定時，可能會覺得愧疚。這份文宣，指引一條路讓你不再為此感到遺憾。
Project Director Celia Chen and Sandy