Social Justice and Ethics Committees in Heath Care: Core to our Mission or None of our Business? Harvard Medical School’s 2016 Bioethics Conference

Social Justice and Ethics Committees in Heath Care: Core to our Mission or None of our Business?

April 14, 2016

Joseph B. Martin Conference Center
77 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA 02115

This multidisciplinary program is co-sponsored by the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School and the Petrie Flom Center at Harvard Law School to inform and deliberate with health care professionals, bioethicists, attorneys, and the public about how to address social justice issues in health care—such pressing problems as worsening drug shortages, continuing racial inequities, providing health care for refugees, uninsured and undocumented persons, and the like.

Using selected examples we will discuss the efforts of health care administrators and others to identify and address such large scale health system problems. Is there a role for ethics committees in handling social justice issues—should the attention of hospital ethicists and ethics committees expand to address broader institutional policies and programs? Faculty experts and participants will describe successful efforts to address specific problems and engage in thoughtful discussion with participants about strategies and struggles of ethic committees that move beyond individual case consultation to organizational ethics.

Support for this conference has been provided by Oswald DeN. Cammann Fund at Harvard University.

Register at https://conta.cc/21ojHQQ

AGENDA:

	Keynote 9:10am Is there a role for ethics committees addressing social justice issues in health care? James Corbett JD, MDiv Sr VP, Community Health Improvement & Values Integration, Centura Health
Panel Discussion
10:00am Social justice problems and institutional responses—real world examples and reflections
Concurrent Sessions I & II
1:10 – 2:10 & 2:20 – 3:20
	Addressing race in health care delivery and ethics consultation Gary Bailey, DHL, MSW, ACSW, Martha Jurchak RN PhD, Steve O’Neill LicSW, JD
	Ethical Aspects of Emergency Preparedness Ali Parmar JD, Meg Femino HEM
	Fairness in Assisted Reproduction Louise King JD MD, and/or others from Boston IVF
	Caring for Refugees and Undocumented Patients Paul Simmons MD, Lynn Black MD, Annekathryn Goodman MD, MS, Joshua Abrams JD
	Making Medical Decisions for Unrepresented and Unknowable Patients Carol Powers JD, Paul McLean, Jolion McGreevy MD, MBE, MPH, Enos Gardiner MDiv
	Building Knowledge about Institutional Ethics Strategies  Charlotte Harrison JD, MPH, PhD, Jim Sabin MD
	Plenary 3:30 Embedding Organizational Ethics in the Way We Do the Work What is “org ethics” and how do we do it?  Can I take this work into my organization? Is addressing these or similar issues organizationally embraced as involving ethics? Jim Conway, MS, Lecturer on Health Care Management, HSPH

4:00-4:15 Audience Q&A
4:15 Closing remarks
4:15-6:00 Poster Session with Master’s Students and Networking Reception for all
[wine/beer, hors d’oeurves]