DUBOIS – National speaker and author, Deborah Grassman, will speak at the Lakeview Lodge, Treasure Lake, 3871 Bay Rd., DuBois, on Saturday.
The free seminar, provided by the AseraCare Foundation and Helpmates Charitable Foundation, will begin with registration from 8 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.
At 9 a.m., Grassman will speak on the Wounded Warrior and how a stoic military culture, combat training and war can change a veteran in fundamental ways and how their families can be affected.
Session 2, Dying Healed, will begin at 10:45 a.m. This session will provide information and tools to health care providers about the value of providing a prognosis to patients so end-of-life strategies can be developed.
Session 2 will also explore evidence-based palliative care practices that relate to dementia, dyspnea, artificial nutrition, diabetic control, agitation and implanted defibrillators.
Session 3, Good Grief: Those Who Grieve Well, Live Well, will explore the different bereavement needs of veterans and civilians. It’ll discuss how to fight the effects of compassion fatigue, which is a secondary form of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.
Vendors will be available throughout the day, including: Patricia Martin, aroma therapy; Melora McNutt, guided imagery; Peggy Caruso, life coach; Greg Parks, essential oil lotions; Allison Ball, Meta yoga; and Lori Rowles, Motives Make Up and Isotonic.
Grassman is the chief executive officer and co-founder of Opus Peace, a non-profit organization with a mission to help people re-own and re-home lost pieces of self so wholeness can be restored. She is a nurse practitioner whose career at the Department of Veterans Affairs spanned nearly 30 years.
Grassman was the director of the hospice program and personally took care of 10,000 dying veterans. She retired from the Department of Veterans Affairs and now provides education and consultation throughout the country.