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Communicating wishes

(Worcester MA, May 5th 2008) – Two organizations dedicated to compassionate care are joining forces to present a discussion on better communication at the end of life.
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Partnership Names New Officers and Board Director

(Worcester MA, December 2007) – The Better Ending Partnership, a community coalition of professional, civic, business and religious leaders, has announced new Officers to its Board of Directors. They are: Lois B. Green, Chair; Gerald M. Gates, Vice Chair; and Carlton A. Watson, MSW, Treasurer/Secretary. Leslie Fish, PharmD, of Worcester, has been elected as a new Board Director. The 13-member Board oversees the work of the Partnership, which seeks to educate Central Massachusetts residents on how to prepare in advance for serious illness.

“We are extremely fortunate to have new board officers with such a broad array of relevant experience, ” says Better Ending Executive Director Christine McCluskey. “Each of them knows the Worcester community intimately and is a highly respected leader, and collectively they represent a diversity of sectors in the healthcare world, both not-for-profit and for-profit,” she continued.

Lois B. Green, of Holden MA, has served as an instructor at the UMass Graduate School of Nursing and a clerkship for the faculty of the UMass Medical School. She has also been a consultant to Not-for-Profit Boards, a director of the Elder Home Care Services of Worcester Area, Inc., and an active officer or trustee for several community Boards, including Clark University, Greater Worcester Community Foundation, Bet Shalom Housing for the Elderly, Hoche Scofield Foundation, UMass Memorial Foundation, and United Way of Central Mass.

Princeton MA resident Gerald M. Gates is President of American Stop Loss Insurance Brokerage Services Inc., the largest intermediary/broker of medical stop loss insurance in the United States. He was formerly a senior executive with UMass Memorial Health Care, Inc., Board Chair of the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, and currently serves on the Government Relations Committee of the Self Insurance Institute of America, among other local community and industry groups.

Carlton A.Watson, of Worcester MA, is Executive Director of the Henry Lee Willis Community Center, Inc. which provides social services to minority populations, serving 17,000 children and adults annually. He was President of Personal Resources Association, Inc., a private practice psychotherapy group, and consultant to the Dr. Franklin Perkins Residential Program and the Boston Road Clinic, Inc. Watson also serves as a Board Director for the Health Foundation of Central Massachusetts and Seven Hills Charter Public School.

The newest member of the Board of Directors, Leslie Fish, PharmD, is the Senior Director of Pharmacy at Fallon Community Health Plan. She is also a member of the Fallon Clinic/St. Vincent Hospital Investigational Review Board, teaches managed care in the Worcester Medical resident program, and participates in several research projects. Dr. Fish is President of the Board of the Jewish Family Service of Central Mass.

Mayor Lukes Sets Annual Health Care Proxy Weekend
Tending to Health Care Matters Promotes Family Unity

(Worcester MA, November 2007) City of Worcester Mayor Konstantina Lukes will proclaim a2007 Health Care Proxy Weekend at the upcoming November 20 City Council meeting in Worcester. November 23 through the 25th will be designated as a time for residents of Worcester and beyond to discuss their end-of-life wishes and complete legal forms in advance of a medical crisis.
The Proclamation is a recognition that both families and health care givers can be at a loss if patients are unable to speak for themselves or have not conveyed their health care wishes in advance of a medical crisis. The Mayor has teamed up with the Better Ending Partnership, a non-profit Worcester-based educational organization to encourage residents to discuss these important questions and take action by filling out a health care proxy form and a personal wishes statement.
The Mayor and Better Ending target the Thanksgiving holiday weekend because it is a time of year when most American families gather together. Mayor Lukes will present the proclamation at the Worcester City Council Meeting, held Tuesday, November 21, 2006 at 7PM. The public is invited.
Better Ending on Health Matters Cable Program.

Press Releases

July 2007
Better Ending Changes Name

December 2007
Partnership Names New Board Members

November 2006
MAYOR MURRAY PROCLAIMS
ANNUAL HEALTH CARE PROXY WEEKEND

April 2006
Better Ending in San Diego—Worcester Nonprofit Invited to National Conference

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