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Contact: Bruce Conley
Associate Director of College Relations
Phone: (605) 274-5526
Fax: (605) 274-4903
www.augie.edu
May 1, 2006
SIOUX FALLS - A $26,855 grant has been awarded to LifeCircle South Dakota for a study directed by Dr. Margot Nelson, professor of nursing at Augustana.
LifeCircle South Dakota: Partners Improving End of Life Care is a statewide organization focusing on research, education, public policy, and improved end-of-life care. LifeCircle is chaired by Dr. Susan Schrader, chair of the sociology department at Augustana. Funds provided by the Wellmark Foundation will be used to expand a statewide study of end-of-life care. Nelson is the principal investigator for the study. Schrader and LuAnn Eidsness, a faculty member at the University of South Dakota’s Sanford School of Medicine, are co-investigators.
“This work expands an ongoing study of South Dakotans’ knowledge, attitudes, and preferences about end-of-life (South Dakota’s Dying to Know – SDD2K) through an examination of personal accounts of end-of-life care,” said Nelson.
The initial phase of the SDD2K study is funded by the Sioux Valley and Avera Health Foundations and builds on Sioux Falls research conducted in 2004 and funded by the Sioux Falls Area Community Foundation.
“Results of the full SDD2K research will identify disparities between what people in South Dakota want and what they are currently receiving in health care at end of life, enhance community dialogue about end-of-life issues, and guide recommendations for improving quality in end-of-life care, “ said Nelson.
The Wellmark Foundation is a private, non-profit foundation created by Wellmark, Inc., doing business as Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Iowa. Since 1997, the foundation has provided more than $9.25 million to fund 267 health-related grants in Iowa and South Dakota.