John C. Moskop, Ph.D.
On May 18, 2000, some fifty health care professionals from throughout eastern North Carolina gathered at the Monroe AHEC Conference Center in Greenville for a conference, “Access to Health Care: Moral, Political, and Clinical Challenges,” sponsored by the Bioethics Center, the Department of Medical Humanities, and the Eastern Area Health Education Center. Dr. Larry Churchill, Professor of Social Medicine at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, began the conference with an analysis of prominent moral arguments for improving access to health care. Barbara Matula, Director of Health Care Programs at the North Carolina Medical Society Foundation and former North Carolina Medicaid Director, examined the recent history of and prospects for governmental efforts to address health care needs. Dr. Herbert Garrison, Professor of Emergency Medicine at The Brody School of Medicine, East Carolina University and Chief of Staff-Elect at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, explored the difficulties faced by tertiary care centers in providing access to intensive care services for patients in need. In afternoon panel sessions, speakers discussed efforts to increase access to health care for children, minority groups, and undocumented immigrants, and described the roles played by community programs, free clinics, and private physicians in expanding access to health care services for local residents.
During the past year, Bioethics Center faculty members, Dr. David Resnik and Dr. John Moskop, have been active participants in the work of the North Carolina Coalition on End of Life Care, a statewide program supported by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Dr. Resnik is a member of the Coalition’s Public Education Workgroup, and Dr. Moskop is a member of its Professional Education Workgroup. Dr. Moskop also recently participated in a workshop on advance care planning in La Crosse, Wisconsin, as a member of a five-person team organized by the Coalition.
The Bioethics Center convened an organizational meeting on April 18, 2000, of a local end-of-life care coalition for eastern North Carolina. The newly formed End of Life Coalition of Eastern Carolina (EOLCEC) includes health care professionals from The Brody School of Medicine and the ECU School of Nursing, Pitt County Memorial Hospital, University Health Systems Hospice, and Beverly Hospice, as well as several nursing homes. Drs. Moskop and Resnik are also members of the EOLCEC. The coalition will work to increase understanding of end-of-life care in its region. One of its first goals is to survey the needs and concerns of lay people and health professionals regarding end-of-life care. The group is also planning to develop some public dialogues on end-of-life care in conjunction with the upcoming Bill Moyers special report on end-of-life care, “On Our Own Terms: Dying in America,” which is scheduled to air on PBS, September 10-13. The EOLCEC welcomes persons interested in participating in its work; for more information, please contact Coalition co-chairs Brenda Hoggard or Paula Pruden of University Health Systems Hospice at (252) 332- 3392 or (252) 439-0762.
May 2000 marked the fifth anniversary of the founding of the Bioethics Center. Created in 1995 by an agreement between The Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University and Pitt County Memorial Hospital, the Center’s continuing mission is to foster an environment of concern for moral responsibility, intellectual inquiry and dedicated service. The Center has addressed its mission by providing educational opportunities for health professionals and students, by assisting the work of the hospital’s ethics committees in policy development and case review, and by supporting bioethics research by its faculty. After an initial focus on activities at Pitt County Memorial Hospital, the Bioethics Center has, in the last two years, expanded its scope to include the provision of bioethics educational programs for health care professionals throughout eastern North Carolina. Faculty members of the Department of Medical Humanities serve as members of the Bioethics Center; Dr. John Moskop is Director, Dr. David Resnik is Associate Director, and Georganne Perry is Program Assistant of the Center.
