April 4, 2003

What's Happening

EAP seminar
The Employee Assistance Program (EAP) will offer the seminar "Home Buying" April 10, from noon to 1 pm in the Wellman Conference Room. The seminar will provide an overview of financial aspects of the purchasing process and an explanation of steps to secure a mortgage. For more information, call the EAP at (617) 726-6976.

Pain Relief Champions Course
The MGH Cares About Pain Relief Initiative is sponsoring the annual Pain Relief Champions course, April 14 and 15 at the Holiday Inn Select-Government Center. This course will examine barriers to effective pain relief and suggest tools for overcoming many of them. Any professional in a clinical discipline is invited to take the course and become a Pain Relief Champion. For more information or to register, contact Tom Quinn at (617) 726-0746 or send e-mail to PainRelief@partners.org.

Robert W. Carey Lecture
The first annual Robert W. Carey Lecture will be held April 14, from 6 to 8 pm in the O'Keeffe Auditorium. A reception will be held from 6 to 6:45 pm outside the auditorium followed by "The Care Method, Compassion in Skilled Hands," a lecture given by Edwin Cassem, MD, former chief of MGH Psychiatry. For more information, contact Waveny Cole at (617) 724-4424.

HIPAA case studies
The Clinical Research Program (CRP) and Partners Human Resources is sponsoring "HIPAA Case Studies #1," April 15, from 4 to 5:30 pm in the O'Keeffe Auditorium. Judy Scheer, training coordinator of the CRP, and Harry DeMonaco, chair of Partners HRC, will discuss requiring waiver of authorization and requiring authorization. This lecture meets the mandatory HIPAA education requirement. For more information or to register, visit www.crnet.mgh.harvard.edu or call (617) 726-1669.

Symposium on racial and ethnic health disparities
The Harvard Interfaculty Program on Health Systems Improvement will hold its first symposium, "Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities Research in the US" April 11, from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm at the Harvard School of Public Health, Kresge Building G-1. Register online at www.healthpolicy.harvard.edu/newfeature/disparities_symposium.php by April 7. For more information, contact Debra Perez at djperez@fas.harvard.edu or Carlotta Arthur at carthur@hsph.harvard.edu.

Harvard seminar series
The Harvard Interfaculty Program on Health Systems Improvement will hold "Unraveling the Mystery of the SES-Health Gradient" April 8, at 10:30 am at the Harvard School of Public Health, Kresge Building G-2. Nancy Alder, MD, director of Health Psychology Program at the University of California at San Francisco, will be the guest speaker. For more information, contact phsi@harvard.edu Nursing career expo MGH Patient Care Services will hold a Nursing Career Expo April 6, from noon to 4 pm in the North and East Garden Dining Rooms. Information about opportunities at the MGH for staff nurses, clinical nurse specialists, patient care associates and surgical technologists will be offered. The Center for Clinical and Professional Development also will present a continuing education session for participants in the Haber Room, from 1 to 2 pm. For more information, call Megan Brown at (617) 726-5593.

Cancer Center offers family information backpacks
The MGH Cancer Center now is offering information "backpacks" for parents who have cancer and need help talking about it with their children. Each backpack contains developmentally appropriate educational information as well as expressive, comforting and stress-reducing items and activities. Parent, teen, school-aged and toddler packs are available. Backpacks can be picked up in the Cancer Resource Room on Cox 110. For more information, contact Kathy Clair-Hayes at kaclairhayes@partners.org or call (617) 724-1822.