C-TAC’s most recent faith community workshop, funded by the McElhattan Foundation, took place on May 31. This event was held in the Hill District of Pittsburgh, PA, hosted by Rev. Dr. Dale B. Snyder, Pastor of the Bethel AME Church. This workshop focused on “Navigating Life Conversations & Access to Serious Illness Care Resources.”
One of the McElhattan Foundation’s primary goals is to address health disparities, especially at the end of life. The End-of-Life Care Continuum Project has the following objectives:
- To engage African American community faith leaders and trusted ambassadors serving their community in identifying innovative strategies for a Community Care Model to close the health disparities, care delivery, and caregiving gaps that occur at the end of life.
- To educate and empower African Americans impacted by serious illness who live in underserved communities to improve their quality of life (including mental health, social connectedness, and other needs) through increasing access to end-of-life care options.
- To increase collaboration among African American faith communities and other stakeholders in Pittsburgh with Community Care Models that address longstanding disparities and needs identified by the community.
The workshop agenda was crafted with the necessary ingredients, a cultural and spiritual lens. We must always affirm the values and traditions of any community we desire to serve. What does that mean? It means that we must underscore and highlight what matters most, while incorporating the information we wish to share. In this instance, we began with greetings and prayer, as this is valued in a faith-based Christian community to create the atmosphere for receptivity and alignment. The atmosphere was uplifting and interactive as we addressed the following topics:
- The Benefits of Advance Care Planning & How to Choose a Healthcare Agent.
- Is Advance Care Planning in the Bible?
- The Legal Requirements for Executing the Pennsylvania HC POA.
- The Differences and Benefits of Palliative Care and Hospice.
At the conclusion of the workshop, each participant received a survey to give us feedback on what stood out to them during the workshop. The following are a few comments on what they considered beneficial.
- Being informed, knowledge is power.
- Dispelling myths about palliative and hospice care.
- How important it is to plan.
- Talking to loved ones about final wishes.
- Learning about the services and benefits of hospice and palliative care.
Community convenings are never successful if done without the support, partnership, and collaboration of those who understand the communities’ needs and culture.
We want to acknowledge the amazing faith community leaders and stakeholders who serve on our Advisory Council and who were instrumental in making this event a tremendous success. Special thanks to all below.
- Rev. Dr. Dale B. Snyder, Bethel AME Church
- Rev. John C. Welch, M.Div., PhD, CEO, Medical Ethicist, Flourishing Communities, Duquesne University
- Rev. Dr. Brenda J. Gregg, Destiny of Faith Church
- Rev. Dr. Larry Pickens, Executive Director, Pennsylvania Council of Churches
- Justin A. Yu, MD MS, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Assistant Director, Palliative Research Center (PaRC), Divisions of Palliative and Supportive Care and Pediatric Hospital Medicine, UPMC Children’s Hospital of Pittsburgh
- Lisa A. Martinelli, PhD, JD, MA, AHN Clinical Ethics, Allegheny Health Network
