Jefferson WI—The Rainbow Hospice Foundation has donated copies of the groundbreaking film, “Consider the Conversation—a documentary on a taboo subject” to public libraries throughout Rainbow Hospice Care’s service area which include Cambridge, Deerfield, Fort Atkinson, Jefferson, Johnson Creek, Juneau, Lake Mills, Palmyra, Waterloo, and Watertown, and Whitewater

Funded entirely by private donations (see sidebar), Consider the Conversation is a powerful and inspiring film focusing on one of the most relevant issues of our time—the American struggle surrounding communication and preparation at the end of life. Remarkably compelling, the film intimately explores various perspectives of patients, family members, doctors, nurses, social workers, clergy, educators, and others from around the country, as they grapple with various issues related to death and dying.

Motivated by their personal experiences with the loss of close family members, co-producers Mike Bernhagen, Director of Community Engagement & Care Partner Relations at Rainbow Hospice Care of Jefferson, WI; and Terry Kaldhusdal, an Oconomowoc, WI teacher and filmmaker, decided to join forces in early 2009 to begin their eighteen-month creative journey together.

Two years in the making, the film was released for personal and educational use through Amazon.com in March 2011, the film was made available to PBS stations nationwide through the National Educational Telecommunications Association on June 18. This immediately resulted in a groundswell of interest from PBS stations throughout the country as well as many newspapers and other media outlets (including the New York Times, Sacramento News & Review, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and Sheboygan Press). To date, the film has been purchased by individuals and organizations in 48 states and has been broadcast more than 250 times in 29 states.

Consider the Conversation is a thoughtful and evocative piece overflowing with insight and vision that explores a variety of issues and viewpoints. Although it tackles some tough topics, the film is done in such an unusually tasteful, comforting way that it has proven to motivate viewers to actually start thinking about their personal preferences for their own end-of-life care.

“Our goal is not to hand down answers,” says co-producer, Mike Bernhagen. “People need to ask themselves: When I’m faced with this kind of situation, what would I want for myself or my loved ones? We live in a culture that tends to avoid these discussions until they are forced upon us. As a result, people are often unprepared when the time comes. Our hope is that after seeing this film, viewers will feel more comfortable having conversations about end of life, and start making decisions about the care they want for themselves and their loved ones. If we can inspire dialogue between husband and wife, parent and child, doctor and patient, then we will have achieved a lot.”

The producers also want to help people understand the need for and benefits of advance care planning. “Talking about these issues is the first step,” adds Bernhagen, “but it’s just as important to put our decisions in writing so that family members and healthcare providers can honor our wishes should we become physically or mentally incapable of making decisions or communicating for ourselves.”

To learn more the documentary, please visit: http://www.considertheconversation.org. While there, you can learn more about Mike and Terry’s personal calling to the project, view a trailer for the film, read reviews, meet some of the very special people they’ve been privileged to interview, and much more.

“Donating Consider the Conversation DVDs to local public libraries isn’t the only way that the Rainbow Hospice Foundation is supporting this project,” explains Rainbow Hospice Foundation President, Chuck Frandson. “We became involved in the project early on, when Mike and Terry ran into difficulty obtaining grant money that they hoped would help to underwrite the cost of production and distribution. It was a time when the country was embroiled in debate over health care reform and the controversial topic of “death panels.” As a result, even those funding sources that believed strongly in the project’s worth and mission were not willing to provide financing.

“However, recognizing the immense social value of the film, the Rainbow Hospice Board offered, later that year, to support the production by establishing a restricted fund,” added Frandson. “This enabled third parties to make tax-deductible contributions to the project and permitted Mike and Terry to receive reimbursement for a portion of their production and distribution expenses.”

Thanks to the generosity of individuals and organizations from 14 different states—especially the producers, who donated over 3,500 hours of their time—the country finally has a tool that inspires meaningful dialogue about end-of-life.

The inspiration to donate copies of the film to the libraries came from Whitewater resident, Marty Harrison, one of Rainbow Hospice Care’s board members, who, after watching the film for the first time, was so moved that he asked if he could donate it to the Whitewater Public Library so it would be easily accessible to the entire community.

“We are thrilled that so many more people can now benefit from the film’s important message and the decision was in keeping with the philanthropic roots of the project,” added Frandson.”