Northern California Pain Initiative
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Welcome to the Northern California Pain Initiative web site.


The Northern California Pain Initiative (NCPI), a project of the American Cancer Society, California Division, is dedicated to promoting the right of all people to control their pain to maximize their quality of life.

The privacy policy for the NCPI website can be viewed here.

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Website of the Month

Partners Against Pain
 

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Partners Against Pain (a Purdue Web Site), a project of Purdue Pharma, LP, is an alliance of patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers working together to alleviate unnecessary suffering by their efforts to advance standards of pain care through education and advocacy. The web site has useful tools available to promote September as Pain Awareness Month as well as pain relief advocacy throughout the year. 

Latest News
 
FREE Educational and Peer Support Classes
for Cancer Patients and Caregivers


"I Can Cope" is a series of free, educational, peer support classes now offered over the telephone on the first Wednesday of each month.  "I Can Cope" is exclusively for adult cancer patients and caregivers.  The next class, "Managing Cancer-Related Fatigue", will be offered on Wednesday, December 3, 10:00 am - 12:00 noon Pacific Time. Call 1-800-ACS-2345 to register.  Registration deadline is November 24.

Register by December 29 for the January 7th class on "Communicating with Family, Friends, and Health Care Providers". Register by January 28 for the February 4th class on "Managing the Effects of Illness and Treatment".

A description of these classes can be viewed here.  Answers to Frequently Asked Questions about the "I Can Cope" program can be viewed here.  Self-guided classes are also available online at www.cancer.org/onlineclasses

Beverly Nicholson Receives State Pain Initiative Champion Award


Beverly Nicholson, R.N., M.S., A.O.C.N., received the State Pain Initiative Champion Award at the Annual Meeting of the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives (ASPI), June 23, 2007, in Boston. Beverly has served as Chair of the Northern California Pain Initiative (NCPI) from September 2005 to present, and has served on the NCPI Advisory Council since 2004. Congratulations, Beverly!

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A citation prepared by the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives, describing the award and Beverly's service to the Northern California Pain Initiative, can be viewed here.

CME Webcast on Treating Painful Vertebral Compression Fractures

The Cleveland Clinic has made available for viewing at anytime an archived webast ofasatellite symposium form the Pallative Medicine 2007 International Symposium.   To view the webcast, go to http://www.clevelandclinicmeded.com/fractures
CD of NCPI Teleconference Now Available for FREE During September


September is Pain Awareness Month!  Update your knowledge about the evidence-based American Pain Society Guideline for the Management of Cancer Pain in Adults and Children.  

The Northern California Pain Initiative (NCPI) is making available, free-of-charge, a 90-minute CD of a teleconference that was conducted by Christine Miaskiowski, RN, PhD, FAAN, Professor and Associate Dean, Department of Physiological Nursing, University of California, San Francisco, School of Nursing.  Dr. Miaskowski is a nationally known pain expert and researcher and was the Co-chairperson of the expert panel that formulated the Guideline for the Management of Cancer Pain in Adults and Children.

A limited number of copies of the Guideline book (a $15 value) are available with the CD on a first-come, first served basis, while supplies last.

Those wishing to obtain a copy of the CD and guideline book may contact Jennifer Renell of the American Cancer Society, Northern California Division, 1710 Webster Street, Oakland, CA  94612
fax:      (510) 874-7161
email: Jennifer.Renell@cancer.org

The teleconference project was funded by the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives (ASPI) and the Lance Armstrong Foundation (Agreement No.: 07-8197).

New Pain Management Toolkit on Pain and Dementia


The Resource Center of the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives (ASPI) has released a new educational tool for detecting pain in patients with dementia.  “Detecting Discomfort in Dementia: Focus on Behaviors - What Nursing Assistants Need to Know About Pain” was developed under the direction of Karen Stevenson, MS, RN, Manager of Professional Education and Institutional Change Programs for ASPI and June Dahl, PhD., Senior Advisor for ASPI.  The 13-minute educational video and the accompanying booklet, “Tools for Inservice Education” provide the necessary information to help nursing assistants understand the role they play in practicing good care for cognitively impaired residents in pain.

This videotape, as well as others in the ASPI video series on effective pain management practices, can be ordered online from The Resource Center of the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives, at http://www.trc.wisc.edu.

Racial, Cultural, Ethnic Factors Affect End-of-Life Care


The California HealthCare Foundation has published a new report describing how Californians' end-of-life care differs by race, culture and ethnicity.  The report identifies gaps in providing culturally sensitive services and offers recommendations for change.

The full report, plus supplemental materials on methodology, are available for free download from the California HealthCare Foundation website, at http://www.chcf.org/topics/chronicdisease/index.cfm?itemID=131674.

2007 Progress Report Card Now Available
from the Pain and Policy Studies Group


The Pain and Policy Studies Group has made available on its website the 2007 update to its two reports -- a Progress Report Card and an Evaluation Guide.  The Report Card provides a letter grade for each State based on the quality of its policies (laws, regulations, guidelines) that influence pain management.  The Evaluation Guide provides a profile of each state's policies and how the policies enhance or impede pain management.

Both documents can be viewed or downloaded from the Pain and Policy Studies Group website at http://www.painpolicy.wisc.edu/Achieving_Balance/index.html

January 2008 Issue of ASPI Pain Relief Forum Newsletter Online


The January 2008 edition of the Pain Relief Forum E-Newsletter of the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives is now online and can be viewed at http://aspi.wisc.edu/newsletter/

Health Care Professionals Needed for the Hurricane Katrina Relief Effort


The Office of The Surgeon General and the Office of Public Health Emergency Preparedness are in the process of mobilizing and identifying healthcare professionals and relief personnel to assist in Hurricane Katrina relief efforts.

They are currently looking for multidisciplinary healthcare professionals and relief personnel with expertise in a wide range of disciplines.

Go to https://volunteer.ccrf.hhs.gov or call the Hurricane Katrina Volunteer Call Center at 1-866-KATMEDI (1-866- 528-6334) to learn more.

Volunteers are advised that individuals must be healthy enough to function under spartan field conditions.  Workers will be non-paid temporary Federal employees, and will therefore be eligible for coverage under the Federal Tort Claims Act for liability coverage and Workman’s Compensation when functioning as HHS employees. Although there will not be any salary, travel and per diem will be paid.

Pain Terminology Online

A sample list of frequently used pain terminology is now available online.  A link to the list can be found here on the "Related Topics" links page.  To go directly to the online list, click here.

Assessment Tools for Adult and Pediatric Patients


The following links provide assessment tools to facilitate the management of pain:

Partners Against Pain
http://www.partnersagainstpain.com/index-mp.aspx?sid=3 

David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA Department of Anesthesiology 
http://www.anes.ucla.edu/pain/assessment_tools.html 

City of Hope Beckman Research Institute http://www.cityofhope.org/prc/pain_assessment.asp  

Cancer Pain Release (for elderly patients)
http://www.whocancerpain.wisc.edu/eng/17_1-2/Tools.html 

Endo Pharmaceuticals
http://www.endo.com/patients/painmanage.html 
 

Interactive Communication on American Pain Foundation website

PainAid http://www.painfoundation.org/PainAid/page.asp?file=page_home.htm  is the interactive section of the American Pain Foundation's website.  Find Conference Rooms (regularly scheduled chats on a range of issues); Discussion Boards (threaded message boards on a broad range of topics); and Ask the Expert feature (pose questions to licensed healthcare professionals)
Sales and Marketing of Palladone Suspended


Sales and marketing of Palladone (hydromorphone hydrochloride, extended release capsules) has been suspended by Purdue Pharma.  Further information is available at
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/SAFETY/2005/safety05.htm#Palladone

Duragesic Package Insert Black Box Warning Changes Announced

Duragesic (fentanyl transdermal system) package insert black box warning changes have been announced regarding product safety. Further information is available at
http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/SAFETY/2005/safety05.htm#Duragesic
NCPI Advisory Council Teleconference Schedule


The NCPI Advisory Council has scheduled its teleconferences for the 3rd Tuesday of each month in 2008, from 4:00 PM to 5:00 PM Pacific Time.  The dates are 15 JAN, 19 FEB, 18 MAR, 15 APR, 20 MAY, 17 JUN, 15 JUL, 19 AUG, 16 SEP, 21 OCT, 18 NOV, and 16 DEC.  The teleconference phone number and participant code are listed on the Advisory Council web page. 



FREE Notification of Website Updates
 
To be automatically notified whenever the Northern California Pain Initiative web pages are updated, go to http://www.changedetection.com/monitor.html 
and follow the on-screen instructions.    Enter the URL  http://home.earthlink.net/~norcalpain/index.html
and your email address in the instruction box.    After completing the instruction box, check your email for a confirming message.  Thereafter, any day that the Northern California Pain Initiative web pages are updated, you will receive one small email message alerting you that changes have been made, with links to the updated website.
 
Northern California Pain Initiative webmaster

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  Northern California Pain Initiative
   A Project of the American Cancer Society,
California Division, Inc.

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NCPI is a member of the Alliance of State Pain Initiatives

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