December 3, 2025 Webinar Information

Incapacity from self-neglect or unique values to be honored?

Webinar Description

One of the most challenging reasons for ethics consultation is deciding what should be done in the care of a patient with limited decision-making capacity. In what situations should the decisions of that person be respected and when should they not be respected? What factors distinguish the two situations? What process is helpful to approach such a case? Attend this webinar and hear how the opinions of a geriatrician, philosopher-ethicist, an attorney, and Adult Protective Services policy specialist are incorporated into a process for ethical decision-making.

Panelists

The panelists for the webinar are Michelle Angus, LSW, Social Service Policy Specialist, WV Department of Human Services,  Stacie Honaker, Esq., the Risk Manager and Privacy Officer for the WVU Health Sciences Center and ex-officio member of the WVNEC Advisory Committee, Dan Miller, PhD, Assistant Professor in the Department of Philosophy, West Virginia University, and Alvin H. Moss, MD, Professor of Medicine, West Virginia University School of Medicine, and Executive Director of WVNEC, and Stephanie Pockl, MD, Assistant Professor of Geriatrics and Palliative Medicine, WVU School of Medicine. They will discuss the multiple clinical, ethical and legal issues in the case and recommend how best to advise the hospital social worker. Please attend, chat in your questions and comments, and learn answers to your questions and those of others.

Learning Objectives

At the conclusion of the session, participants should be able to:

• Describe when decisions should be made for persons with limited decision-making capacity;
• Discuss the concept of "compartmentalization" of decision-making capacity; and
• Explain the Adult Protective Services policy for determining when a home is unsafe and it is necessary to intervene and remove a person from their home.