What we offer
Aging Specific Resources
We mirror HHCI by offering education, training, supportive services, and research; yet all geared towards the physical, mental, spiritual and relational health of those community members 65 years and older and their families.
Care for the Caregivers
We provide a unique continuum of services for caregivers as they navigate the health and human services needs of loved ones who suffer from dementia – from diagnosis to end-of-life.
Guidance and Support
We focus on providing support for those experiencing loss and grief. Our health care ethics committee also provides guidance to families confronted with chronic illnesses and complex treatment options.
To help individuals and families to address questions regarding health care planning for serious or terminal illnesses, we offer a Community Healthcare Ethics Consultation Service (CHECS).
Medical care continues to become more complex, and it is sometimes difficult to understand different care plan options, especially when facing a serious illness. What would you do if you were asked to make a treatment decision for someone who is not able to speak for themselves?
If you are in the hospital, there are many resources, including the ethics committee or ethics consultation service. If your loved one is not in the hospital, it may be difficult to understand the available care plans. In response, we offer CHECS to serve as a resource for people facing serious illnesses or caregivers.
If you or your loved one needs help in considering the ethical aspects of health care plans, please contact us. Our health care ethics committee consists of more than twenty people from various walks of life, including doctors, nurses, clergy/chaplains, social workers, and lay persons. Representatives from the committee will meet with you, your family members, and other members of your support system to consider the information that you have been given. The services we provide are strictly advisory – you and your family will still make all health care decisions but with additional insights, it may make this process easier for you.
Education regarding healthcare ethics is available to clergy, medical professionals, and community members. Contact us today to learn more.
We offer informational and educational programming throughout the year focusing on general aging issues such as healthcare, legal, living, and financial, as well as specific concerns such as advance care planning, caregiving, and mental decline. View calendar.
We offer support groups and individual coaching on both aging and grief issues. Contact us today to learn more.
- Monthly Virtual Grief Support Group
We offer a virtual grief support group that meets once a month, typically on the 2nd Tuesday of the month. - Monthly In-Person Grief Support Group
We offer an in-person grief support group that meets once a month, typically on the 4th Wednesday of the month.
Currently, several research projects addressing doctor/patient communication, community dialogues, and nurse empowerment are in place or being considered. Contact us today to learn more.
Videos
How Precinct 2 Assists and Enriches the Lives of Seniors and Those Who Care
Join us for ‘How Precinct 2 Assists and Enriches the Lives of Seniors and Those Who Care’ led by Connie Assiff, Manager of Health Services for Harris County Commissioner Adrian Garcia in Precinct 2.
How to Hire a Caregiver
Join us for “How to Hire a Caregiver,” led by Maureen Brunetti, Former Manager and Instructor at the Christian Community Service Center’s Professional Home Caregiver Program.
Foster Grandparents of Harris County: An Overview
Join us for ‘Foster Grandparents of Harris County: An Overview’ led by Elizabeth Churaman, Director of the Foster Grandparents program of Harris County.
How Arts Are Good for the Brain
Join us for ‘How Arts Are Good for the Brain’, presented by Sally Davis, RN, MSN.
Introduction to CarePartners / Best Practices When Caring for Caregivers
Join us for “Introduction to CarePartners / Best Practices When Caring for Caregivers”, presented by Andrea Williams, Director of CarePartners’ Dementia Day Center.
Aging with Grace: Legal Concerns of Aging
Join us for “Aging with Grace: Legal Concerns of Aging”, led by Rabbi Seth M. Stander, MAHL, Community Aging Specialist at HHCI CARES.
Aging with Grace: Paying for Aging
Join us for “Aging with Grace: Paying for Aging”, led by Rabbi Seth M. Stander, MAHL, Community Aging Specialist at HHCI CARES.
Aging with Grace: Health Care Rights and Responsibilities
Join us for “Aging with Grace: Health Care Rights and Responsibilities”, led by Rabbi Seth Stander, MAHL, Community Aging Specialist at HHCI CARES.
- Joan Chittister, The Gift of Years: Growing Older Gracefully
- Michael Kinsley, Old Age, A Beginner’s Guide
- Muriel R. Gillick, The Denial of Aging: Perpetual Youth, Eternal Life, and Other Dangerous Fantasies
- Thomas R. Cole, The Journey of Life: A Cultural History of Aging in America
- PBS Frontline Series, Living Old
- Texas Aging and Disability Services (Formerly DADS)
- Texas Advance Directive Information and Forms
- Texas Long-Term Care Provider Search
- The Conversation Project
- Houston Health Department Agency on Aging
- Harris County Family Caregiver Support Network
- Legal Support
- Free and Low-cost Legal Assistance Programs
- Elder Options of Texas
- Driving Information
- A quiz on driving reactions: This version lets you answer the questions online and scores it for you
- We Need to Talk: Family Conversations with Older Drivers from Hartford
- United Way Senior Guidance Directory
- Senior Resource Guide (Care facilities and home health companies)
- Houston Jewish Community Center Senior Companions Program
- Houston Area Parkinson’s Society
- Houston Area Agency on Aging: Part of a nationwide network of agencies funded by Medicare coordinating supporting services for adults 60 years or older, as well as their caregivers; telephone: 832-393-4301
- Center for Medicare/Medicaid Services online rating for hospitals and nursing homes: hospitals and nursing homes
- Baker-Ripley Senior Resources
- Medicare Fraud: Jennifer Salazar, Houston Better Business Bureau, jsalazar@houbbb.org, 713-341-6184
- Alzheimer’s Association Online Education
- Alzheimer’s Association Caregiver Center
- The Alzheimer’s Association Caregiver Advisory – Note: if you scroll around the website, there is lots of other information
- The Amazing Place: 3735 Drexel Dr., Houston; Arlene Schollaert, (713) 552-0420; information on various community resources, including for folks not needing The Amazing Place’s services
- The Gathering: St. Martin’s, 4th Mondays, 10:00 AM – 1:30 PM, Bagby Hall, Kathy Tellepsen, kattellepsen@sbcglobal.net, 713-301-4786 · The Gathering Place, Clear Lake Presbyterian Church: gatheringplace@clpc.org or 281-488-6731, ext. 343.
- Alzheimer’s/Dementia Caregiver Support: Hope and Healing Center, Kathy Tellepsen, kattellepsen@sbcglobal.net, 713-301-4786
- Savvy Caregiver: Six-week, two-hours per week training on caregiving for adults with dementia offered at HHCI in the spring and fall of each year; Contact Peggy Determeyer, pdetermeyer@hopeandhealingcenter.org; For other locations, contact Sharon Cantrell, The Amazing Place SCantrell@amazingplacehouston.org; (713) 552-0420
- Atul Gawande, Being Mortal and What Matters in the End
- Angelo Volandes, The Conversation: A Revolutionary Plan for End-of-Life Care
- Institute of Medicine, Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life
- Ira Byock, The Four Things that Matter Most
- Maggie Callanan and Patricia Kelley, Final Gifts: Understanding the Special Awareness, Needs, and Communications of the Dying
- Margie Jenkins, You Only Die Once: Preparing for the End of Life with Grace and Gusto
- Paul Kalanithi, When Breath Becomes Air
- Sharon Kaufman, Ordinary Medicine: Extraordinary Treatments, Longer Lives, and Where to Draw the Line
- Samuel Harrington, MD, At Peace: Choosing a Good Death After a Long Life
- Katy Butler, The Art of Dying Well: A Practical Guide to a Good End of Life
- Barbara Brown Taylor, Learning to Walk in the Dark
- Tim P. VanDuivendyk, The Unwanted Gift of Grief
- Frederick Schmidt, The Dave Test: A Raw Look at Real Faith in Hard Times
- Elizabeth Harper Neeld, Seven Choices: Finding Daylight after Loss Shatters Your World
- Sheryl Sandberg and Adam Grant, Option B: Facing Adversity, Building Resilience, and Finding Joy
- Kate Bowler, Everything Happens for a Reason and Other Lies I’ve Loved
Session Reports
- GAIN and GCPAAA Final Report – Mental Health 03-28-2016
- St. Vincent’s and GICRAC Final Report – Mental Health 03-28-2016
- LULAC Final Report – PCOR and CER 12-31-2015
- GICRAC Final Report – PCOR and CER 12-31-2015
- GAIN and GCPAAA Final Report – PCOR and CER 03-27-2014
- St. Vincent’s House Final Report – PCOR and CER 03-25-2014
Publications
For additional information, contact
Dr. Peggy L. Determeyer
McGee Fellow and Director,
C.A.R.E.S. pdetermeyer@hhci.org
(346) 335-8623
Dr. Determeyer’s Publications
- Primary author with Howard Brody, “Medical Futility: Content in the Context of Care” in Palliative Care and Ethics, edited by Timothy E. Quill and Franklin G. Miller. Oxford University Press. 2014.
- Primary author with Julie Kutac, “Touching the Spirit: Re-enchanting the Person in the Body” in Journal of Religion and Health, February 2018.
- Primary author with Jerome Crowder, “Community Dialogues” in Social Research Methods. Oxford Press, September 2019.
- Co-author with Jerome Crowder, “Optimizing Community Bioethics Dialogues: Engaging the Populace with Health Care Concerns.” Narrative Inquiry in Bioethics 9, no. 3 (2019).
