New York Six Professors to Create End-of-Life Care Research Course
New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium (NY6) faculty recently collaborated with community leaders operating residential care homes in Upstate New York to develop a new research course that examines end-of-life care.
Professor Leah Rohlfsen, J. Ansil Ramsay Professor in Public Health and Associate Professor of Sociology, along with Kelly Melekis of Skidmore College, and Carol Weisse of Union College, developed the course to allow students to analyze data that comes from residential Comfort Care Homes, which provide end-of-life care to terminally ill individuals in non-profit, non-medical homes primarily staffed by volunteers.
During the 16-week course, students will engage in meaningful public scholarship while also contributing to NY6 curricular initiatives related to experiential learning, diversity, equity, inclusion, social justice, public health, quantitative reasoning, and writing.
“Accessing hospice care can be challenging for terminally ill individuals living in rural communities, especially for patients with home insecurity and caregiver instability,” says Rohlfsen. “The course encourages students to think about the goals and outcomes of end-of-life care using a variety of perspectives. Additionally, it provides students with opportunities to connect classroom material to the communities we live and work in.”
The course is expected to launch in Fall 2023.
Established with the support of the Mellon Foundation, the New York Six Liberal Arts Consortium facilitates collaboration among its member institutions in fulfilling their educational missions and serving the public good. Through the sharing of expertise and resources, the Consortium enhances options for students, faculty, and staff, while reducing colleges' individual and collective operating and capital costs.
