Georgia Baptist College of Nursing to Host Conference on End-of-Life Care

Mercer University’s Georgia Baptist College of Nursing will host a research conference on end-of-life care Friday, March 26, in the Trustees Dining Room on the University’s Atlanta campus.  The conference, titled “Perspectives and Reflections from the Gloaming of Life:  Palliative Care and End-of-Life Challenges,” is open to all members of the nursing, theology, pharmacy and medical professions. In addition, nurses who attend may receive 4.5 contact hours on palliative care from the Georgia Nurses Association.

“As more of our health care is provided outside of hospitals, the care of patients with life-limiting illness is increasingly provided in the community by families and informal caregivers,” said Dr. Janet Timms, professor of nursing and one of the conference’s organizers.  “There is no right way to live or die as a result of these life-limiting diseases. Each disease presents its own set of challenges for patients and for their caregivers. The conference will provide updated knowledge about palliative care for health professionals, caregivers and individuals facing life-limiting illnesses and equip health professionals and informal caregivers to provide high-quality, compassionate end-of-life care.”

The Rev. Dr. Julie Pennington-Russell, senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Decatur and a Mercer Trustee, will be speak at the opening session. Dr. Pennington-Russell’s presentation is titled “Spiritual Dimensions/Care of Those in the Final Stages of Life.”

The conference is scheduled to run from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m., and consists of five sessions in addition to Pennington-Russell’s opening presentation.  The morning sessions include: Dr. Robyn Mowery, assistant professor of family therapy in Mercer’s School of Medicine, presenting “Grieving with Hope:  Anticipatory Loss through Bereavement” and Dr. Susan S. Gunby, professor of nursing, presenting ‘“Being There’ and ‘Being Here’ During the Phases of Suffering.”

The three afternoon sessions include: Dawn Keller, staff nurse in a cardiovascular intensive care unit for Wellstar Health Systems, presenting “It's a Roller-Coaster Ride:  The Lived Experience of Critical Care Nurses Caring for Patients during the Dying Process;” Dr. Denise Massey, associate professor in the James and Carolyn McAfee School of Theology, presenting “How Pastoral Care Giver can Contribute to Palliative Care;” and Elaine Harris, associate professor of nursing, and Ann Keeley, associate professor of nursing, co-presenting ‘“Can You Help Me Find My Bus Ticket?’ Understanding the Communications of Those Who Are Dying.”

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Comprehensive List of Tax Hikes in the Baucus Finance Committee Draft

/PRNewswire-/ -- Americans for Tax Reform today released its initial assessment of the healthcare plan outlined by Sen. Max Baucus (D-Mont.):

Individual Mandate Tax. If you don't sign up for health insurance, you will have to pay a tax in the following range:

Single Family
100-300% FPL $750 $1500

300+% FPL $900 $3800

Employer Mandate Tax. $400 per employee if health coverage is not offered. Note: this is a huge incentive to drop coverage, as $400 is much less than the average plan cost of $11,000 for families or $5000 for singles (Source: AHIP)

Backdoor Death of HSAs. By requiring that all plans (besides the few that are grandfathered) provided first-dollar coverage for most services, there would be no HSA-qualifying plans available from the Massachusetts-like exchanges

Excise Tax on High-Cost Health Plans. New 35% excise tax on health insurance plans to the extent they exceed $21000 in cost ($8000 single)

Report Employer Health Spending on W-2. This is clearly a setup for the easy individual taxation of employer-provided health insurance down the road.

Cap Flex-Spending Account (FSA) Contributions at $2000. Currently unlimited.

Eliminate tax deduction for employer-provided retirement Rx drug coverage in coordination with Medicare Part D

Medicine Cabinet Tax. Americans would no longer be able to purchase over-the-counter medicines with their FSA, HSA, or HRA

Increase Non-Qualified HSA Distribution Penalty from 10% to 20%. This makes HSAs less attractive, and paves the way for HSA pre-verification

Corporate 1099-MISC Information Reporting. Currently, only non-corporations providing property or services for a business must be issued at 1099-MISC. This would expand the requirement to corporations doing business with other businesses. The amount of reporting needed for an average business would be huge. Paves the way for full information reporting to the IRS.

Various industry tax grabs based on market share. $2.3 billion: PhRMA; $6 billion: health insurance providers; $750 million: clinical labs; $4 billion: medical device manufacturers.

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Family Research Council Action to Host National Townhall Webcast on Health Care Reform

www.frcaction.org/webcast
"National Townhall on Health Care Reform"
Thursday, September 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET

/PRNewswire/ -- On Thursday, September 10 at 8:30 p.m. ET, FRC Action, the legislative lobbying arm of Family Research Council, will host a special one hour "National Townhall on Health Care Reform" Webcast. FRC Action President Tony Perkins will be joined by Congressional leaders and policy experts to discuss the moral, ethical, and financial dangers of President Obama's health care plan.

Webcast viewers will be able to:
* get their questions answered.
* dissect the dangers inherent in the President's proposed plan.
* and examine the life and death implications this will have for themselves and their loved ones

Who: Tony Perkins, President, FRC Action
Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)
House Republican Leader John Boehner (R-OH)
Rep. Charles Boustany (R-LA)
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ)
Ken Blackwell, former Ohio Secretary of State
Cathy Ruse, Senior Fellow for Legal Studies, Family Research Council
Bishop Harry Jackson, Senior Pastor, Hope Christian Church
Wesley J. Smith, renowned ethicist
Mat Staver, Liberty Counsel
Dr. David Prentice, Senior Fellow for Life Sciences, Family Research Council
Tom McClusky, Senior Vice President, FRC Action



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