Making health and personal care decisions for someone else can be both complicated and worrisome. Medical, legal, ethical, and personal factors can be difficult to sort out, and the right thing to do isn't always obvious. Founded in 1992, the Denver Community Bioethics Committee (DCBC) is a community-based group providing guidance through such dilemmas. Any individual or institution in the state of Colorado may present a case to the DCBC. The DCBC represents a cross-section of the community. Members include social workers, nurses, physicians, clergy, attorneys, health care administrators, long-term care ombudsmen, and the general public. Through monthly educational programs, members are trained in ethical analysis and kept current on topics that affect health care decision making. Because the DCBC is not attached to any particular institution or governmental body, it offers objective, thoughtful consideration of tough issues. Referrals and Procedures Consultations are available at no charge to anyone in Colorado. All interested parties may participate. Please contact the DCBC by calling 720-944-2994. A representative will contact you to schedule your case for presentation. The DCBC may request a written summary of the issues to be submitted ahead of the case presentation. The following information and documents are helpful as background: Personal history of the individual Medical and psychological evaluations Care management plans Medical Durable Powers of Attorney Living Wills CPR directives Guardianship papers, if applicable If desired, the DCBC will provide a written report of its recommendations. Privacy and confidentiality are strictly protected at all times. Those We Serve Agencies and individuals who have brought or referred cases to the DCBC for consultation include: County Departments of Human Services Long-term care facilities Hospitals Attorneys Case managers Guardians Courts Families Community members Physicians Social workers The DCBC can also serve as a resource to other institutional ethics committees, providing ``second opinions'' and additional review of cases. To contact the DCBC for information or to schedule a consultation, call 720-944-2994. Important Note The DCBC does not make decisions. The recommendations of the committee serve as a barometer of community values, based on ethical principles and protocols.   Monthly Meeting Information The DCBC meets the first Wednesday of every month at the offices of Total Longterm Care at 6th Ave. and Garrison Street, at 7:30 A.M. Guests are welcome, but please contact the chair, Talon Windwalker at talon@windwalkerconsulting.com. Meetings may be closed to visitors or education programs rescheduled if we are discussing an active case. 2010 Education Schedule March 3: Goldilocks and the Three Neuroscientists or Who’s Been Sleeping in My Head: Ethics and Neuroscience, presented by Deb Bennett-Woods, EdD, Regis University April 7: Guinea Pigs in Hospice? The Ethics of Research Involving Dying Patients, presented by Jennifer Ballentine, MA, Research Program Strategist, The Denver Hospice May 5: Professional Boundaries: Discerning the Line in the Sand, presented by Jane Barton, MTS, MASM, Life Quality Institute June 2: Legislative Roundup: Review of Colorado and National legislative actions affecting health care, seniors, insurance, and related issues No Meeting in July August 4: To be determined September 1: To be determined October 6: To be determined November 3: To be determined December 1: To be determined Members of the DCBC Chair: Talon Windwalker Agape Hospice Immediate Past Chair: Rena Kuberski, Jefferson County Adult Protection Linda Lee Babcock DDHS Adult Protection Jennifer Ballentine The Denver Hospice (past chair) Ann Bray VistaCare Hospice Larry Brennan, MD Medical consultant Mary Estill Buchanan Public member Carl Glatstein Glatstein & O'Brien (past chair) Greg Graves, MSW James Karel, MD Chaplain, Hospice of St. John Sally Klein, MSW, LCSW Mary Ellen Leeds Arapahoe Co. APS Caseworker Kim Lopez CO Access/Advantage Jan Murphy-Roe, LCSW Windcrest by Erickson Sue Radcliffe Community Member Rev. Will Reller Chaplain, VistaCare Hospice   Flora Rodriguez Russel Public member Lori Rothwell Total Longterm Care (past chair) Vijaya Sekhar Seniors Resource Center Beth Sidebotham Seniors' Resource Center Cheryl Siefert Life Quality Institute Rev. Nancy True Unlimited Grace Barbara Varos Public member Jeanne Weis Jeffco ARC   Upcoming Public Programs   A public program for 2010 is currently being planned. Watch this space! Past Public Programs Beyond Informed Consent: Ethical Strategies for Shared Decision Making A half-day workshop in 2007, featuring representatives from healthcare, social work and spiritual care, and legislative/public policy, to examine a model and techniques for shared decision making. The 20th-century model of informed health care decision making overemphasizes critical thinking and devalues the decision making process and its complex context. Recent critiques from new ethical perspectives have called attention to the fact that people don’t make their choices alone and rarely do they rely only on rational analysis of information. Choices and decisions are made within the context of relationships—families, communities, health care and human service teams, and the larger society—as well as faith, values, and personal commitments. Ethical Conflict Resolution: Working with Families and Across Cultures A half-day workshop presented in August 2004 for professionals working with clients in stressful situations, especially involving health or functional crises. Through role-play, a mediator demonstrated methods for working with families to air views, identify problems, and work toward solutions. Following the role-play, a panel of professionals representing various cultural groups (African American, Asian American, Russian, Hispanic) commented on the issues presented and solutions proposed from the perspective of their own cultures. Reports on the past programs listed below are available for a photocopying and delivery charge of $5. To order, please make your check payable to DCBC and mail to DCBC Member Jennifer Ballentine, P.O. Box 9249, Denver CO 80209. Spiritual Traditions in Health Care Ethics A panel program held in March 2003. Representatives of many of Denver's religious communities offered comment on specific case studies and the spiritual dimensions of ethics in health care. Faiths and traditions represented included African American, Buddhist, Catholic, Christian Science, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, Curandera, Hispanic, Jehovah's Witness, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American. Multicultural Issues in Health Care Ethics A panel program held in August 2001. Two panels comprising representatives of Denver's varied cultural population commented on specific case studies and offered historical and cultural background for their communities. Speakers included members of communities including African American, Asian, Eastern European, Gay and Lesbian, Hispanic, Jewish, Muslim, and Native American. This site is maintained by the Denver Community Bioethics Committee. Updated February 9, 2010.