St. John Health
Community Health, Palliative Care
Wednesday, February 28, 2007

Media Contact: Daniela Scholl, 586) 753-0731

St. John Health is inviting the local faith community to take part in Compassion Sabbath 2007, an interfaith initiative to provide clergy and religious educators tools for addressing the spiritual needs of the seriously ill, the dying and their families.

As a part of the St. John Health and the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life collaborative project on palliative and end-of-life care, Compassion Sabbath 2007 will provide faith leaders with the resources needed to better minister to the seriously ill and dying.  Palliative care addresses management of symptoms such as pain, nausea, and shortness of breath, with an emphasis on quality of life throughout the course of a chronic, debilitating or life-threatening illness. 

Compassion Sabbath 2007 has several events, including:

• Facing End of Life with Compassion, March 8: A clergy conference at the Macomb Community College South Campus will feature presentations by local and national leaders at the forefront of palliative and end-of-life care and breakout sessions. Breakfast and lunch included. Cost: $30 per individual or $25 per individual for a team of three or more from the same organization.
• Train the Trainer Workshops: Workshop Dates TBD.  Workshops will help religious educators use resource materials to organize programs for their communities and faiths.
• Compassion Sabbath Weekend Observance, April 19-22:  Faith communities are invited to engage members in reflection on the meaning of death and exploration of the duties and obligations of the faith community to seriously ill and dying persons. This can be accomplished by setting aside one service or event during this weekend to focus on prayers, scriptures, readings, speakers, sermons and/or educational efforts on end-of-life issues.

For more information and to register for Compassion Sabbath 2007, call 1-888-440-7325.

St. John Health and the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life launched a collaborative project in 2006, with the goal to educate patient care teams on how to evaluate patients for palliative and end-of-life needs, and assure that all patients and their families receive compassionate care with attention to their spiritual, psychosocial and clinical needs as they confront advanced illness.

About St. John Health
     St. John Health is the largest provider of inpatient care in Southeast Michigan and one of the largest employers in metro Detroit. St. John Health provides comprehensive prevention, primary care and advanced treatment programs with more than 100 medical centers, and nine hospitals spanning five counties.

About the Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life
     The Duke Institute on Care at the End of Life works to advance the understanding and application of the spiritual dimension of care for seriously ill and dying patients and their families. This mission is achieved through promoting and conducting research and educational and outreach programs.  The Institute's work is broadly interdisciplinary and inclusive, involving academics and practitioners in fields such as theology, health care, public policy, law and the humanities. Programs, which range in scope from local to international, maintain a focus on the intersection of spirituality and medicine. 

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