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CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Presbyterian Hospital's Hospice & Palliative Care Program will again host the Hospice Foundation of America's (HFA) Annual Bereavement Teleconference, this year featuring a panel discussion on "Living with Grief: Before and After the Death." It will be hosted in the Presbyterian Hospital Auditorium on Thursday, March 22, 2007 from 1:30-4:30 p.m.

The teleconference will explore the most current theoretical perspectives on loss and grief experienced throughout a life-limiting illness as well as after the death. Frank Sesno, an Emmy-award winning journalist, special correspondent with CNN and a faculty member of George Washington University's School of Media and Public Affairs, will moderate the program. A panel of ethicists, educators, and hospice experts will focus on areas where understandings of grief have been challenged.

Prior to the teleconference, Presbyterian Hospice & Palliative Care Program, in cooperation with Forest Pharmaceuticals, will sponsor a lunch & learn entitled "SURVIVOR CaregivingAlone on the Island? Self Care Tactics for Caregiver." The one-hour program, scheduled from noon-1 p.m., is designed to educate the community and provide a primer for the broadcast to follow. A Support Service Information Expo will be set up in the Presbyterian Auditorium Atrium from 11:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and will highlight various support services provided by Presbyterian Healthcare to patients and families facing life challenges.

"This event represents an outstanding opportunity for healthcare professionals, educators, clergy and others to learn ways to effectively support patients and families struggling with loss before and after a death," said Kim Darden, director of Hospice and Palliative Care at Presbyterian Hospital. "As hospice professionals, we are charged with educating individuals and their families about grief and how it affects us personally, as a community and as a nation. At Presbyterian Hospice, our mission is to provide excellent end-of-life care one visit at a time and we are honored to again host the event."

The teleconference is produced by HFA, a not-for-profit organization, which acts as an advocate for the hospice concept of care through ongoing programs of professional education, public information and research on issues relating to illness, loss, grief and bereavement.

Presbyterian is the only Charlotte-area host opening their broadcast of the teleconference to the general public. The event is free, but registration is required. To register, please call 704-384-CARE.