The Northwest Christian University (NCU) Center for Leadership and Ethics, in partnership with PeaceHealth of Eugene, is hosting the Grace and Truth Forum, Oct. 16-17. The two-day workshop will focus on end-of-life care and preparing for the unexpected.
“End of life is one of the most challenging times for a healthcare provider, but it can also be incredibly rewarding,” said Keith Potter, Director of NCU’s Center for Leadership and Ethics. “This Grace and Truth Forum was developed to teach healthcare professionals how to promote a peaceful and respectful environment for dying.”
The Grace and Truth forum begins Thursday, Oct. 16 at noon with a roundtable discussion at Camp Harlow. The workshop continues Friday, Oct. 17 at noon with Grand Rounds of PeaceHealth Riverbend. The conference concludes later that afternoon on the campus of NCU with a keynote session and breakout workshops.
The keynote speakers include Thomas McCormick, D.MIN., who has lectured on medical ethics medical ethics and pastoral care at the University of Washington since 1979, and John W. Tastad, Program Coordinator for Advance Care Planning at Sharp HealthCare in California. Both speakers are NCU alumni; Tastad earned his Bachelor of Science in 1984, and McCormick earned his Bachelor of Theology in 1956 and was awarded an Honorary Doctor of Humanities in 2007. Tastad, who is a spiritual care counselor with Sharp Hospice Care, will be presented with the Distinguished Alumni Achievement Award at the Celebrate NCU brunch on Saturday, Oct. 17.
“We couldn’t be more pleased to welcome back these two alumni, who have so distinguished themselves in the field of palliative care,” said NCU president Dr. Joseph Womack.
The Grace and Truth Forum highlights a full weekend of festivities at NCU as Friday marks the beginning of Family Weekend and Homecoming Reunion Weekend.
The partnership between NCU and PeaceHealth on the Grace and Truth Forum also brings together two organizations that share a common foundation in Christian faith. In 1895, Eugene Claremont Sanderson founded NCU — then Eugene Bible University; and in 1924, Sanderson founded Pacific Christian Hospital. In 1963, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Newark (later the Sisters of St. Joseph of Peace), founders of what would become PeaceHealth, took over the operations of Pacific Christian Hospital in Eugene and renamed it Sacred Heart General Hospital. And earlier this year, Northwest Christian University (NCU) announced its partnership with PeaceHealth to offer a regionally-accredited registered nurse to Bachelor of Science in Nursing program (BSN).