Treating a person in pain
There is a “profound lack of expertise in basic areas of pain medicine,” says Richard Payne, MD of Duke University. In addition, “exaggerated fears of addiction on the part of doctors and patients…adversely affect clinical decision-making.”  More

A Public and Private Death
The overlapping public and private nature of two end-of-life stories were on display during the Cockefair Lecture October 9, as Eleanor Clift of Newsweek and The McLaughlin Group talked about how she balanced reporting on the Schiavo case while at the same time caring for her dying husband.  More

A Public and Private Death
While reporting and commenting on the Terri Schiavo case for Newsweek and the Fox News Channel in 2005, Eleanor Clift was also caring for her dying husband. Ms. Clift will describe her experiences as keynote speaker for the Cockefair Lecture October 9.  More

Rivals: Religion and Psychiatry
“This study illuminates the overlap and healthy rivalry between religion and psychiatry,” says John Lantos, MD, a co-author of the study and the John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics at the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, Missouri.  More

New Medicaid provision "discriminatory and unjust"
Bioethics leaders submit that since the requirement applies only to Medicaid patients it is clearly discriminatory and unjust. "We cannot understand why, if CMS believes this is good policy, it would not be applied to all Americans covered under the Social Security Act, including those on Medicare," says Myra Christopher, president and CEO of the Center for Practical Bioethics.  More

Get in the Game:
The Black Health Care Coalition, along with the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum, Kansas City area oncologist John Sheldon, MD, and the Center for Practical Bioethics are calling on medical professionals and the public to "Get in the Game" and work toward eliminating cancer disparities among African Americans. The group is sponsoring an educational forum for medical professionals on September 17 and a health fair on September 18.  More

What next for advance care planning?
A Center initiative to identify barriers to advance care planning is coincidentally influencing a planned report to Congress on the same subject.  More

Healthcare Rationing and Patient Safety focus of 2007 Flanigan Lecture
A catastrophe forces many choices, particularly when it comes to allocating suddenly scarce health care resources. How we guide such decision making is the focus of the 13th Annual Rosemary Flanigan Lecture sponsored by the Center for Practical Bioethics and Carondelet Health. The lecture is scheduled for Thursday, July 19 at 7 pm in the Alex George Auditorium at St. Joseph Medical Center.  More

Deciding what is Fair
Most of us don’t want to think about the terrible choices a disaster or pandemic will force upon all of us. The questions such scenarios present are enormous in scope. How to answer those questions is the focus of the new issue of Practical Bioethics, the quarterly publication of the Center for Practical Bioethics.  More

Liability coverage expanded for pro bono care
As part of a measure revamping Medicaid in Missouri, legislators approved language to expand the State Legal Expense Fund to pay for judgments against physicians providing care without compensation. The language specifies such patients must have been referred to the physician by a health department or health center, including safety net clinics.  More

Missouri passes out-of-hospital do not resuscitate measure
“In many cases, it is ill-advised for patients to be subjected to the trauma of CPR,” states John Carney, vice president for aging and end of life at the Center for Practical Bioethics. “This measure not only recognizes the need to protect the health and safety of the patient, but also in many cases honors the wishes of a terminally ill patient at home.”  More

Lantos assumes Francis Chair July 1
John D. Lantos, MD becomes the first holder of the John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics on July 1. The chair was established in 2005 with a $3 million endowment from the Francis Family Foundation for the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City.  More

Honoring Decades of Service
Marjorie and William Sirridge have influenced generations of physicians in the Kansas City medical community and nationally. For that and much, much more, the Sirridge’s will be honored with the Vision to Action Award by the Center for Practical Bioethics during the organization’s annual dinner on April 10.  More

Center annual dinner introduces John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics and honors Sirridges
The Center for Practical Bioethics will introduce the first John B. Francis Chair in Bioethics and honor the contributions of physicians William and Marjorie Sirridge during their annual dinner on Tuesday, April 10, 2007 at the Hyatt Regency-Crown Center Hotel in Kansas City, MO.  More

MetroCARE: Matching physicians with patients in need
MetroCARE is a 501c(3) organization housed at the Metropolitan Medical Society office. Bylaws are in place and a board of directors will be named soon. Staff is in place to receive phone calls at (816)531-8432 from physicians wishing to participate and patients needing service.  More

Faith Community Responding to Depression
the Center for Practical Bioethics and the Mental Health Association of the Heartland are sponsoring a conference to train faith leaders to support congregants struggling with depression. The conference is scheduled for February 12 from 8 am to 4:15 pm at the Saint Paul School of Theology at 5123 East Truman Road in Kansas City, MO.  More

Pediatric Quality of Life Roundtable Set for February 9
The Center for Practical Bioethics and Kansas City Partnership to Advance Pediatric Palliative Care are sponsoring a Quality of Life Roundtable on Friday, February 9 at 1 pm. The quarterly gathering to discuss ways to enhance the quality of life of pediatric palliative care patients will take place at the Kansas City Central Library at 14 West 10th Street.  More