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VISITING THE HOSPITAL Conference on Spirituality in Pediatrics 2009
Speakers
Rabbi Samuel E. Karff Healthcare as a Sacred Vocation
Kristie Cullum Sacred Moments: Facilitating Conversations with Dying Children and Their Families
James Giordano
The Neuroscience of Pain and Spiritual Experience: Implications for an Ethics of Pain Care
Nancy Berlinger
Mapping Model Programs for Pediatric Palliative Care: How Chaplaincy Supports the Team
George Fitchett
Allan Hamilton
From Barn to Bedside: Using Horses to Improve Non-verbal Communication in the World of Healthcare
Eugene Roehlkepartain
Attending to Young People’s Spirit: Insights from a Global Study
Mollie Painton
Play Therapy, Puppets, and the World of Spirit
Rev. Pamela L. Taylor
Grief in the Workplace
Brent LoCaste-Wilken
Diane Wardell
Using the Hands as an Extension of the Heart: Healing Touch as a tool for healing
Angelo Giardino
Child Abuse: Addressing Care Providers' Spiritual Dilemmas
Lisa Creamer
Enrique Contreras Child Abuse: Addressing Care Providers' Spiritual Dilemmas
Joan Drescher
A Journey in The Moon Balloon – Helping Children Cope With Change
Judy Rollins
Using Images and Symbols to Renew the Caregiver
Jodi Roberts
Stress Relief Using Guided Imagery and Music
Greg Finch
The Art of Self-Care
Anita Kruse
Carol Herron
Rabbi Samuel E. Karff, Ph.D., Co-Founder of Sacred Vocation Program Rabbi Samuel E. Karff is presently Associate Director of the John P. McGovern, M.D. Center of Health, Humanities, and the Human Spirit and Visiting Professor in the Department of Family Medicine at the University of Texas Health Science Center at the Texas Medical Center in Houston, Texas. Rabbi Karff received an A. B. degree Magna Cum Laude from Harvard College and earned a doctorate from Hebrew Union College, the seminary which ordained him. He became Rabbi Emeritus of Congregation Beth Israel in May 1999 after serving his congregation for twenty-four years as Senior Rabbi. He was a lecturer in the Department of Religious Studies at Rice University from 1977 to 2001. Rabbi Karff has contributed chapters on Judaism to a college text Religions of the World, which has been used on over 200 campuses here and abroad. He is the author of Agada: The Language of Jewish Faith, The Soul of the Rav, and Permission to Believe: Finding Faith in Troubled Times that was just released by Abingdon Press in 2005. He has contributed chapters to fourteen books and is a past president of the Central Conference of American Rabbis. He has lectured extensively in this country and abroad.
Kristie Cullum, R.N., B.S.N., C.H.P.N. Kristie Cullum is the Pediatric Care Manager fir the Houston Hospice Butterfly Program. The Butterfly Program provides palliative and hospice care for children with life limiting conditions from birth through 19 years of age. They also provide a perinatal program offering emotional support, education and advocacy to parents whose unborn child has been diagnosed with a terminal condition. Kristie’s clinical background includes work in critical care, pediatrics, and she has been a pediatric hospice nurse for almost 20 years. She has attended an IPPC (Initiative for Pediatric Palliative Care) retreat, and is frequently asked to teach about pediatric hospice care throughout the local area and surrounding regions. Kristie has completed the “ELNEC Train-the-Trainer” course and curriculum. She has presented nationally and internationally to professional, educational, and social organizations on the pediatric hospice philosophy, and issues related to death and dying. Kristie is a 2005 recipient of the “Super Partner Award” given by Texas Children’s Hospital, and received an “Excellence in Nursing Award” from the Good Samaritan Foundation in 2006. Kristie received her Bachelor of Science in nursing from Texas Woman’s University. Graduated cum laude. James Giordanoo, Ph.D., M.Phil. James Giordano is Professor of Neurophilosophy and Neuroethics, Institute of Psychological Sciences, Fellow, Blackfriar's Hall, University of Oxford, UK, and is Chair of Academic Programs of the Potomac Institute for Policy Studies, where he also serves as Director of the Center for Neurotechnology Studies. Prof. Giordano is Friedrich-Wilhelms' Visiting Professor of Neurosciences, Neurophilosophy and Neuroethics, Rheinische Universitat, Bonn, Germany, and American Academy of Pain Medicine National Visiting Professor of Pain Medicine and Ethics, Texas Tech University Health Sciences, Center, Lubbock, TX. Prof. Giordano’s research has focused upon neurochemical and anatomical substrates of neuropathic pain, and the development of analgesic drugs and novel technologies. His current work addresses the neurophilosophy of pain, suffering and sentience, and examines how new developments in neuroscience and neurotechnology inform, compel and affect neuroethics. Prof. Giordano is the author of over 120 peer-reviewed publications, and editor of the recently released books Neuroethics: Scientific and Philosophical Perspectives on the Silent Revolution in Neurosciences (with Bert Gordijn; Cambridge University Press), and Pain Medicine: Philosophy, Ethics and Policy (with Mark Boswell; Linton Atlantic Press) and is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal Philosophy, Ethics and Humanities in Medicine, Associate Editor the journal Neuroethics, bioethics section editor for Practical Pain Management, neuroscience and ethics section editor for the international journal Forschende Komplimentärmedizin, and Associate Editor for science and ethics of the journal Spirituality and Health International. He has given over 100 invited lectures, both nationally and internationally, on neuroscience, neuroethics, pain, and the ethics of pain research and therapeutics. Nancy Berlinger Nancy Berlinger is Deputy Director and Research Scholar at The Hastings Center, an independent, nonprofit, nonpartisan bioethics research institute located in Garrison, New York. Her research interests focus on health care ethics and include end of life care; palliative care, ethics in health care chaplaincy; ethical issues in cancer survivorship; moral distress in health care; patient safety and the resolution of medical harm; and ethics education for pandemic planners. Broader interests include narrative ethics and medical humanities. Her current and recent projects include: Director, Hastings Center Guidelines on End of Life Care, 2006-09 Co-Director, The Chaplain’s Role in Pediatric Palliative Care, 2009-10 Co-Director, Professional Chaplaincy and Health Care Quality Improvement, 2007-08 Co-Director, Addressing Pandemic Planning in Clinical Ethics Education, 2006-07 Staff Investigator, Ethics of Improving Healthcare Quality and Safety, 2004-06 Co-Director, Promoting Patient Safety: An Ethical Basis for Policy Deliberation 2001-03 As Deputy Director, she is responsible for strategic planning, and for management of the Center’s capacity-building initiative, Bioethics and the Public Interest, 2007-2009 Berlinger is the author of After Harm: Medical Error and the Ethics of Forgiveness (Johns Hopkins, 2005, paperback 2007) and is developing a book project on cancer survivorship and the goals of cancer care. George Fitchett, D.Min., Ph.D. George Fitchett is an Associate Professor and the Director of Research in the Department of Religion, Health, and Human Values, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL. He also holds an appointment in Rush’s Department of Preventive Medicine. He has been a certified chaplain (Association of Professional Chaplains) and pastoral supervisor (Association for Clinical Pastoral Education) for over 25 years. His book, Assessing Spiritual Needs (Academic Renewal Press, 2002), is a widely used text in clinical and academic training programs. Since 1990 George has been involved in research examining the relationship between religion and health in a variety of community and clinical populations. His research has been funded by the National Institutes of Health and published in pastoral, medical, and psychological journals. George has received several academic and professional awards including the 2006 Anton Boisen Professional Service Award from the Association of Professional Chaplains. Allan Hamilton, M.D. Dr. Allan Hamilton graduated from Harvard Medical School and completed his surgical internship and neurosurgical training at the Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, Massachusetts. In 1990 Dr. Hamilton joined the neurosurgical faculty at the University of Arizona. In 1995, he became the Chief of Neurosurgery and in 1997 became Chairman of the Department of Surgery. During this interval, Dr. Hamilton was recognized for his research into the design and application of computerized guidance systems in neurosurgery. Since 2004, Dr, Hamilton has been is a tenured full Professor in Neurosurgery and also holds professorships in the Departments of Radiation Oncology, Psychology, and the School of Electrical and Computer Engineering at the University of Arizona. He is also Executive Director of the Arizona Simulation and Technology and Education Center (ASTEC), a multi-disciplinary think tank for the development of computerized “smart” surgical instrumentation and high-fidelity simulation to reduce medical errors and surgical accidents. His first book, The Scalpel and the Soul: Encounters with Surgery, the Supernatural, and the Healing Power of Hope, was published in 2008. Dr. Hamilton is a well known horse trainer and gives equine training clinics around the US and abroad. He helped develop equine-assisted learning programs for medical students, cancer patients and survivors, and troubled youth. Dr. Hamilton serves as a medical script consultant to the hit TV series "Grey's Anatomy." Eugene Roehlkepartain Eugene C. Roehlkepartain is vice president of Minneapolis-based Search Institute, a leading innovator in discovering what children and youth need to succeed. He serves as co-director of the institute’s Center for Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence. Since joining Search Institute in 1990, he is author of more than 30 books and reports on youth, family, and community development. Among his recent publications are The Handbook of Spiritual Development in Childhood and Adolescence (co-editor; Sage, 2006) and Nurturing Child and Adolescent Spirituality: Perspectives from the World’s Religious Traditions (co-editor; Rowman & Littlefield, 2006). He is a graduate of Baylor University. Mollie Painton, Psy.D. A nationally recognized lecturer on play therapy and the spirituality of children, Dr. Mollie Painton has been in private practice since 1989 specializing in work with children and families. The mother of three lives in Fort Collins, Colorado, where she is a licensed psychologist, an APT Registered Play Therapist/Supervisor, and an EMDR Level II Trauma Therapist. Dr. Painton spent one year in Arizona studying Ericksonian hypnotherapy, both at the University of Arizona in Tucson and at the Erickson Center in Phoenix. For three consecutive years, she wrote a bimonthly Family Upbeat column in the Fort Collins Coloradoan newspaper. She has had the opportunity to teach and supervise play therapy with doctoral students at the University of Northern Colorado. Her twenty years of experience as a children’s entertainer with puppets and stories have enhanced her ability to be a privileged visitor in the invisible worlds of spiritual children. Rev. Pamela L. Taylor, D.Min, B.C.C. Reverend Taylor is Senior Pediatric Chaplain at Texas Children’s Hospital. For over 30 years, Pam has ministered to children, youth, college students and hospice patients. She is an ordained, denominationally endorsed and Board Certified Chaplain and was the first pediatric chaplain to be hired at Texas Children's Hospital in 2002. Pam’s received her Doctor of Ministry from the Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington, DC in May of 2007. Brent LoCaste-Wilken, L.C.S.W., C.E.A.P. Brent, Manager of the Employee Assistance Program at Texas Children’s Hospital has 23 years of experience in the field and is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Employee Assistance Professional. His undergraduate degree is from Baylor University in Social Psychology and his graduate degree is from University of Houston in Social Work. His clinical experience is diverse spanning multiple types of problems and populations. Brent is President of EAPA Houston. He has certifications in Grief Recovery, EMDR, CISM, and ABC. He has served on local and national critical incident teams. Diane Wardell, Ph.D., R.N., W.H.N.P.-B.C., A.H.N.-B.C., C.H.T.P/I. Diane Wind Wardell is a nurse practitioner and nursing educator at The University of Texas Houston Health Science Center. She is the Research Director for Healing Touch International, Inc., and former President and Chair of Certification. She teaches all levels of the Healing Touch curriculum. She maintains a Healing Touch practice at the university and conducts research in energy based therapies. Angelo Giardino, M.D., Ph.D. Angelo P. Giardino is the medical director of Texas Children’s Health Plan, a clinical professor of pediatrics at Baylor College of Medicine, the Associate Chief for Academic General Pediatrics, Research, Texas Children's Hospital, an Adjunct Associate Professor in the School of Public Health at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, an attending physician on the Texas Children’s Hospital Child Protection Team and a member of the forensic pediatrics service at the Children’s Assessment Center in Houston., Texas. He graduated summa cum laude from Temple University, earned his M.D. and Ph.D. at the University of Pennsylvania and his M.P.H. from the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Giardino completed his residency and fellowship training in pediatrics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. He is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics, and a member of the Academic Pediatrics Association and Texas Pediatric Society where he serves on both the Child Abuse and Neglect Committee and the Children with Disabilities Committee. His academic accomplishments include publishing several textbooks on child abuse and neglect, presenting on a variety of pediatric topics at national and regional conferences, serving on several national boards including the Board of Directors for Prevent Child Abuse America, the National Advisory Board of the Institute for Safe Families and the National Advisory Board for Justice for Children. Additionally, Dr. Giardino serves on the Board of Directors for Children @ Risk Houston, a Houston-based child advocacy organization which focuses on public policies and the impact on child and family well-being. Most recently Dr. Giardino was named the principal investigator for an Avon Foundation supported project designed to train pediatric health care professionals about how to screen for Intimate Partner Violence (IPV) in the pediatric healthcare setting. This project builds off a previous Children’s Trust Fund supported project piloted in Philadelphia that trained pediatric residents to incorporate IPV screening into their continuity clinic.
Lisa Creamer, R.N.
Lisa Creamer is the Nurse Manager of the Child Protection Program at Texas Children’s Hospital and Medical Clinic at the Children’s Assessment Center. The Child Protection Program sees over 2000 cases of suspected child abuse each year. Lisa’s role includes coordinating activities of the Child Protection Team related to identification, evaluation, and presentation of all aspects of suspected child abuse; providing information and education to health care providers in the primary care setting and in hospitals throughout the Houston area as well as to non-medical personnel including CPS workers, law enforcement, and attorneys. She is a member of the Harris County Child Fatality Review Team, and is also a member of the Speaker’s Bureau for the Child Protection Program and has presented on child abuse on the local, regional, and national level, most recently speaking at the 17th National Conference on Child Abuse and Neglect in Atlanta, GA. Lisa was a co-contributor to the Child Maltreatment chapter in the latest edition of Wong’s Essentials of Pediatric Nursing, a textbook used by nursing students throughout the county. Lisa graduated from Texas Women’s University and has worked at Texas Children's Hospital for over 25 years in a variety of roles with the last four in the realm of child abuse and neglect. Enrique Contreras y Martinez, M.Div., B.C.C.
Enrique Contreras is a graduate of St. Thomas University School of Theology, where he earned a Masters in Divinity. He completed a chaplaincy internship at Children’s Medical Center in Dallas as a requirement for his master’s degree. That experience led to a two-year residency program in Clinical Pastoral Education at St. Luke’s Episcopal Hospital, which included serving as a chaplain resident at Texas Children's. Chaplain Contreras has assumed responsibilities primarily for the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit, the Emergency Center, and the Progressive Care Unit. He also responds to requests when a Spanish-speaking chaplain is needed. Joan Drescher Joan Drescher has explored how art helps heal the body, mind and spirit for the past twenty years. Her unique and colorful murals answer the need to humanize the healthcare environment that can be found in major hospitals throughout the US and Canada. Joan is the Artist in Residence at MassGeneral Hospital for Children and past Artist in Residence at the Claritis Institute in Colorado. She is the author/illustrator of the Moon Balloon book, Director of the non-profit Moon Balloon Project, Inc., author/illustrator of twenty-five children’s books and co-creator of On Wings of Light with Joan Borysenko. Joan is a member of the Society for Arts in Healthcare, a Fellow at the Institute for Body, Mind and Spirituality at Lesley University and a Spiritual Director from the Claritis Institute. Judy Rollins, Ph.D., R.N. Judy Rollins brings nearly 30 years of arts and healthcare experience in research, consulting, program development, and education. She has developed programming for children and families in hospitals, hospice care, and the community. She coordinates the Studio G Artists-in-Residence program in pediatrics at Georgetown University Hospital, and is Assistant Professor in the Departments of Family Medicine and Pediatrics, Georgetown University School of Medicine Washington, DC. Jodi Roberts Jodi Roberts is a sound healing catalyst for transformation, ceremonial concert musician, founder of Sacred Improv Ensemble, and recording artist using the sound of Tibetan bowls, temple bells, and wind gongs to weave meditative, ceremonial experiences of peace, love, joy and beauty. Her healing work supports clients in changing patterns that no longer serve for a healthy, functional and joyful life. She is a cultural anthropologist trained in cross-cultural Native ceremony and healing, spiritual counseling, energy healing, Zen meditation and Tibetan sound healing and Holographic Sound Healing. She has 20 years of experience and training in mindfulness and meditation techniques for stress reduction and creation of clear choices and actions based on those choices. She is the first Sound Healer and Meditation Teacher for the Ft. Hood Army Warrior Combat Stress RESET program in Killeen Texas. Greg Finch, D. Min. Dr. Gregory L. Finch concurrently serves as Associate for Collaborative Projects at Washington National Cathedral and as Director for Wild Geese Among Us, a Washington DC-based arts and healthcare consulting firm. Greg serves in a range of health, spiritual life, and education roles in areas of strategic planning, transformational education, medical education, aesthetics and spiritual life, and healthcare consultancy. As adjunct Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at The George Washington University School of Medicine as well as adjunct faculty at Wesley Theological Seminary and The Princeton Theological Seminary Center for Continuing Education, Greg works with a range of students at the intersection of aesthetics, spiritual life, and wellness. Greg is a Society for the Arts in Healthcare consultant and serves on the Editorial Review Board of the Society’s journal, Arts & Health: An International Journal of Research, Policy and Practice. Greg holds a doctorate in medicine, spirituality and aesthetics along with graduate degrees with honors in divinity, spirituality and the arts, spirituality and medicine, arts management, and architecture from Princeton Theological Seminary, Wesley Theological Seminary, The American University, and Texas A&M University and was an Associate Fellow with Dr. Christina Puchalski at the George Washington Institute for Spirituality and Health. Dr. Finch is a speaker, retreat leader, and conference facilitator in the domains of wellness, aesthetics, spiritual life, and transformational leadership. Anita Kruse Pianist, singer and songwriter Anita Kruse is described as “a rare blend of visionary artist and a powerful inspired performer.” A classically trained pianist, Anita began writing her own music while completing a Master’s Degree in Piano Performance at the University of Michigan with Theodore Lettvin. Anita worked as a soloist and accompanist for several years performing throughout the United States. In addition to performing nationwide, Anita continues her work in Houston where she has worked as an artist in residence at Poe Elementary School directing original children’s musical productions, and currently as an instructor of piano and songwriting for children and adults. Anita has arranged and produced seven CDs, one of which, If We Can Fly to the Moon, a song and website dedicated to the victims of the September 11th tragedy, was taken on board the Endeavor’s November 2002 Space Shuttle Mission by astronaut, John Herrington, flying over five million miles around the earth. In 2006, Anita founded the Purple Songs Can Fly Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to providing a creative, musical outlet for children at Texas Children’s Cancer Center. The children work with Anita and other professional composers to write and record their own songs in the Purple Songs Can Fly in-house recording studio. To date over 120 songs have been written and recorded through Purple Songs Can Fly. The children's songs have flown with individuals to countries across the globe on Continental Airlines’ international Kid's In-Flight Channels and aboard two Space Shuttle missions with Astronauts Scott Parazynski in 2007, and Heide Stefanyshyn-Piper in 2008. Carol Herron - Coordinator, Arts in Medicine, Texas Children’s Cancer Center and Hematology Service Carol Herron holds an M.A. degree in Therapeutic Recreation from Texas Woman’s University and a B.A. degree in Dance and Psychology from Stephens College in Columbia, Missouri. Carol’s professional experience ranges from patient care to administration in both inpatient and outpatient facilities serving patients with psychiatric, physical rehabilitation and acute care needs. Over the past twenty years, she has worked with patients of all ages in a variety of treatment settings. Carol has also worked with community-based art and recreation programs and has presented workshops on the arts as a healing modality to groups ranging from school children to professionals, both locally and nationally. Carol is coordinator of the Arts in Medicine Program at Texas Children’s Cancer Center and Hematology Service. This program brings performing and creative arts to many of the nearly 20,000 patients the center serves annually. She has established relationships and residencies with organizations such as the Houston Symphony, the Houston Ballet, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Watercolor Arts Society-Houston, Writers in the Schools, Purple Songs Can Fly and many other leaders in the art community. She also coordinates the Making A Mark art show sponsored by The Periwinkle Foundation, an annual, international show featuring art by children whose lives have been touched by cancer and blood disorders.
