Ostapenko Center for Ethics in Medicine and Healthcare Event
The Work of Hospital Ethics Committees: A Panel Discussion
Date: November 7, 2019
Time: 12:40pm – 2:00pm
Location: 351 Bisgrove Hall
The Ostapenko Center for Ethics in Medicine and Healthcare will sponsor a panel discussion made of several members of the ethics committee at Mount St Mary’s Hospital in Lewiston, New York. Hospitals and many other healthcare centers standardly have an ethics committee. These committees offer the assistance of individuals with diverse expertise and opinions in response to questions that arise from physicians, nurses, patients and patients’ families in the hospital setting. The committee’s goal is to facilitate communication among all parties experiencing stress at difficult decision making times. When ethical issues arise in clinical care, hospital ethics committees are consulted to make recommendations and function as a mechanism for reconciliation of differences among parties. They also help to craft hospital policies to ensure that high ethical standards are met. Each panelist will speak briefly about his or her experiences serving on the committee, the particular area of expertise he or she brings, and the various challenges that arise in the committee’s work. Lunch will be served.