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Free Webinar this Wednesday | Spotlighting Patient Advocates | Last Chance for Summer Discount on Courses

Ending Soon! End-of-Summer Discount on All Online Courses!

Through 8/31/22, all of our online courses are 20% off with code SUMMER

Our End of Life Care Community Advocate Training prepares professionals across disciplines to better advocate for the communities they serve when planning for, or navigating, serious illness and the end of life. This course offers formal CEUs for licensed New York social workers and CHES/MCHES, and would be valuable to any profession. The discount applies to both the one-time payment and payment plans.

Our other courses for social workers cover a range of topics including grief, palliative care, COVID-19, and voluntarily stopping eating and drinking.

To see our course catalog, please visit courses.eolcny.org


Webinar This Wednesday!

Getting Healthcare to Which You Are Entitled and Not Unwanted Care -What You Should Know

Wednesday, August 24th, 10:00 – 11:00 AM Register here (free)

Hosted by the Senior Law Day Collaborative, David Leven, JD, Senior Policy Consultant at EOLCNY, will cover a range of important healthcare treatment and decision-making issues. He will discuss the differences between palliative care and hospice and when each can benefit patients. Attendees will learn about their rights in a health care setting in order to make informed decisions as everyone is entitled to only receive health care treatment that they want and not get unwanted interventions. He will also cover what can be done if medical interventions are provided against a patient’s wishes.

The webinar aims to empower individuals to know what kind of end-of-life decisions that they can make.


Spotlight: Patient Advocates & How They Can Help You in the Hospital

A patient advocate (also known as a patient representative) is a member of the hospital staff who serves as a liaison between the patient, family, physicians and other hospital staff. They can help resolve many problems and conflicts which are experienced by patients and families; for example, challenging communication issues, plans for current and continued care, pain and other symptom management and visitation concerns. Issues involving end of life care and decisions and alleged discrimination can also be addressed. A patient advocate may also be helpful in helping a patient virtually attend important social events such as a graduation, birthday party, or wedding and may even help to plan or coordinate such events. There is no charge to patients for speaking with a patient advocate.

Identifying the hospital patient advocate may not be easy, so consider calling the hospital operator or asking a nurse, receptionist, or hospital chaplain. Keep in mind that if issues arise during a hospital stay the hospital patient advocate can be helpful. But, remember too that the patient advocate is employed by the hospital so that major issues or disputes may require legal assistance or possibly help from an independent patient advocate.

Earlier this year, the New York Times published an article on patient advocates, and the role they played in helping the author ensure her father and stepmother (both hospitalized) could be with each other at the end of life. You can read it here.

The websites of The Patient Advocate Foundation and their advocacy affiliate, The National Patient Advocacy Foundation, have additional helpful information on patient advocates and their services.


Thank you for supporting improved and expanded end of life care for all New Yorkers!

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