NEWS RELEASE

Contact: Jack Calhoun at 603.283.2108

September 18, 2007 for Immediate Release

Clinical Ethics, Coma and Unconsciousness: a Physician's Dilemma

Dartmouth-Hitchcock physician and clinical-ethics specialist to speak at Antioch University New England on September 26.

Keene, NH - Dartmouth Medical School professor and neurologist, Dr. James L. Bernat, will discuss the complex issues physicians face when diagnosing and treating patient coma and unconsciousness at Antioch University New England on September 26 at 7:00 in the evening.

In addition to his medical practice and teaching, Dr. Bernat serves as the director of the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center's clinical ethics program in Lebanon. As part of his lecture, Dr. Bernat will explain how physicians diagnose patients who are in vegetative and minimally conscious states, explore patient prognosis and treatment, and present new research about patient awareness.

As an introduction the topic and its importance he will review the tragic case of Theresa Schiavo, which made headlines around the world in 2005, and discuss medical decision making for incapacitated patients and end-of-life care.

Antioch University New England sponsors Dr. Bernat as part of its annual Antioch Speaker Series. The program will begin at 7:00 p.m. on September 26th in the community room of the Antioch campus at 40 Avon Street in Keene. This lecture is free and open to the public, although seating is limited. For more information, please contact Jack Calhoun at 603-283-2108.

About Antioch University New England
This is Antioch University New England's forty-fourth year as an institution of higher education. The graduate school was founded in 1964 and is now one of the five graduate campuses of Antioch University.

Antioch University New England, based in Keene, New Hampshire, offers rigorous, practice-oriented, values-based Master's, Doctoral and certificate programs to more than one thousand students. Programs in education, leadership and management, environmental studies, and psychology reflect a dedication to activism, social justice, community service, and sustainability.

Last Updated: 3/4/10