Published Monday, March 25, 2002
GREENVILLE
Partners develop medical ethics projectThiel College, UPMC Horizon, Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Greenville and the Consortium Ethics Program of the University of Pittsburgh have joined to form the Community Medical Ethics Project and will sponsor a series of community service events, End of Life Decisions.
The project's mission is to provide area residents a basic understanding of medical ethics, preparing them to make important decisions related to life and death issues during the course of health care.
Three events are planned -- the first one scheduled for April 25 -- and will feature guest speaker Dr. Rhonda Gay Hartman of the Consortium Ethics Program.
Themes for upcoming events are:
Dr. Hartman, who will speak at all three events, is the interim assistant director of the Consortium Ethics Program. She is a research associate professor in the division of general internal medicine and an affiliate at the Center for Bioethics and Health Law at the University of Pittsburgh. She is also on the faculty at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine.
"We all will face these issues at one time or another --either as a caregiver for another or in one's own life," said the Rev. Martin Roth, pastor of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church and project member. "It is wise to be prepared so as not to be confronted at an emotionally vulnerable time with big questions that deserve thoughtful answers."
Other members of the project include: the Rev. Dr. Paul Baglyos, Thiel campus pastor; Dr. Philip Kerstetter, Thiel interim director of church relations; Dr. Arthur White, Thiel professor of philosophy; the Rev. Matt Ruyechan, UPMC Horizon chaplain and pastor of St. Anthony's Church in Sharon; Michael Downing, UPMC Horizon vice president for planning; and Dr. Joyce Eckard, chairman of the UPMC Horizon Medical Ethics Committee.
All three free events are open to the public and designed for adults of all ages, but reservations are required. Please register by April 12 for the first event by calling (724) 589-6332 or (724) 981-3500, Ext. 6332.