The terrible events of Sept. 11, 2001, constituted the most-wrenching public tragedy in the recent life of America, but in fact the nation's emotions often have been rubbed raw. Rolling one after the other in this media-wired age, great public thunderclaps have reverberated with notes of sadness and fear.
These tragedies differ in the scale of individual lives lost, but can produce a similar, numbing effect in the lives of millions of others. The shootings at Columbine High School (and other school tragedies such as the one at Red Lion, Pa.), Hurricane Andrew, the Oklahoma City bombing, the two space shuttle disasters and the war in Iraq -- each has surely taken a toll. But how to measure it? How should professionals and organizations respond to it?
These are some of the questions that a very timely national teleconference will attempt to answer on Wednesday. The Hospice Foundation of America is putting on a live-via-satellite televised broadcast titled "Living With Grief: Coping With Tragedy." It is the 10th in an annual series of teleconferences organized by the foundation, but this year's topic is as fresh as today's headlines.
Hosted by Cokie Roberts of ABC News, the teleconference will be broadcast to more than 2,000 sites across the country, according to its organizers. One of those will be at Allegheny General Hospital.
The local event, sponsored by Forbes Hospice and the Good Grief Center for Bereavement Support, will be held from 1 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday at the hospital's Magovern Auditorium. After the national teleconference, WTAE news anchor Sally Wiggin will lead a distinguished panel of Pittsburgh-area experts in discussing the issues raised. Those interested -- who might include physicians, nurses, psychologists, social workers, EMS personnel, clergy, even funeral directors -- must call 1-877-284-2000 to register. The registration fee is $20.
In a way, it's sad that such a conference should be held. But in the modern world, it's sad but necessary.
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