Donor Prospectus

Background

Shortly after returning home from work one fall evening, Mike Bernhagen received the type of phone call no one wants to accept. "Mike, this is Dad calling. Mom's in the hospital again and the doctors say there is nothing more they can do for her. You may want to come up as soon as possible to say your final goodbye." What followed was an intimate farewell between a mother and son that inspired Mike to become an advocate for hospice care. Rita Muriel Bernhagen died on October 6, 2003 after a four year battle with congestive heart failure and vascular dementia.

After being honored in the Oval Office as the Wisconsin State Teacher of the Year in 2007 by President George W. Bush, Terry Kaldhusdal called his brother, Pete, to share the experience. Silence greeted him on the other end of the line. Terry asked his brother if he was okay. "I knew this was a big day for you," Pete said, "so I didn't want to say anything, but about three weeks ago, I was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer." Peter John Kaldhusdal died on June 29, 2009 after a two year struggle with the disease.

After losing their respective loved ones, these two friends combined their talents to improve end-of-life care for all of us, but they need your help.  The original cost of this documentary was expected to be $200,000, but thanks to the generous donation of Mike and Terry's time (more than 3,500 hours) that cost has been reduced to $60,000.  In the end, with your help, a full-length documentary will be delivered to multiple PBS stations and generations of Americans will be influenced.

From April 2009 to June 2010, Terry and Mike collected interviews with our country's most discerning experts on this difficult but important, universal subject. They included Dr. Martin Welsh, of California, whose essay 100 Things, Leading to a Single Choice was featured in the Sunday Los Angeles Times; end-of-life care advocate Susan Dolan, of Chicago, an attorney, registered nurse, healthcare consultant and co-author of The End-of-Life Advisor; and medical journalist Stephen Kiernan, of Vermont, whose book Last Rights: Rescuing the End-of-Life from the Medical System, is considered a "must read" for all Americans.

The final perspective now includes doctors, nurses, social workers, clergy, national experts, family members and patients - emotional stories from across the country and across the medical landscape to illustrate the realities of how we die in America.

Because death is a taboo subject, most Americans never plan for the moment that is as natural as birth and adolescence. That lack of planning means physical suffering, emotional difficulty, spiritual quandary, and social strain. The stories in this documentary are the voices of experience. Their wisdom will start the conversation between parent and child, patient and doctor, husband and wife, minister and parishioner. Consider the Conversation seeks to spark a grass roots movement to improve end-of-life care for all of us. The goal is not to hand-down answers, but to inspire us to begin the conversation about our end-of-life wishes, well before the finish line is in sight.

Your Donation is Tax-Deductible

There are two ways to offset the cost of producing and distributing Consider the Conversation: A Documentary Film.

Send a tax-deductible donation by mail to:

Consider the Conversation Documentary
c/o Rainbow Hospice Foundation
147 W. Rockwell Street
Jefferson, WI 53549

Checks should be made out to "Rainbow Hospice Foundation" with the word Documentary written in the memo field or articulated in a letter.

Another option is to make a tax-deductible donation through our secure website at www.considertheconversation.org.

Why This Documentary is Important

  • Today most of us can expect to die slowly and incrementally
  • Life expectancy has nearly doubled over the last 100 years
  • Most of us will now die in institutions like hospitals and nursing facilities rather than at home
  • Many doctors and healthcare givers are not fully trained to administer proper end-of-life care
  • Pioneers considered death a natural part of the life cycle; now it is considered optional and a failure

This documentary does not provide answers; rather, it provides questions that need to be contemplated. Quite simply, our hope is that after seeing this film, viewers will be one step closer to knowing what's right for them and their loved ones, in addition to feeling more comfortable having end-of-life conversations.

Release Date

This is a two year project that began in April of 2009 and will conclude with the film's release in early 2011.

Distribution

As a teaching tool, Consider the Conversation will have local, regional and national implications for how our society views death and dying. Our goal is to target three distinct populations:

  • The general public
  • Healthcare professionals and others dealing with end-of-life issues (administrators, clergy, doctors, marketers, nurses, social workers)
  • Healthcare organizations (hospitals, hospices, universities, medical schools)

The methods that will be utilized to reach each of these distinct audiences include:

  • PBS broadcast and film festivals
  • Speaking engagements at medical and educational conferences
  • Sales of Consider the Conversation on DVD for personal and educational use

Who is Behind This Project?

Terry Kaldhusdal

Wisconsin's 2007 Teacher of the Year is also an independent documentary filmmaker. Among the documentaries he's produced are The General of Progression: The Story of John S. Rockwell; Prestige and Prominence: 100 Years of the Milwaukee Auto Show; Thinking Like a Historian: Rethinking History Instruction; and America's Kings and Queens: The Gilded Age in Middle America, winner of the Wisconsin Historical Society's 2010 Public Programs Award.

Mike Bernhagen

Mike is Rainbow Hospice Care's Director of Community Engagement and Care Partner Relations in Jefferson, Wisconsin. He spent 10 years working in business development with one of the largest integrated healthcare delivery systems and multi-specialty group practices in the Midwest. He has also worked for seven years as a hospice advocate in southeastern Wisconsin.

Rainbow Hospice Foundation

The Rainbow Hospice Foundation has been serving as fiscal sponsor of this documentary film project since its inception, i.e., accepting donations from third parties and reimbursing Mike and Terry for eligible production and distribution expenses.  The Rainbow Hospice Foundation exists to support the mission of Rainbow Hospice Care, Inc., one of only eight independent and non-profit hospice programs operating in the state of Wisconsin.  Located in the small southern Wisconsin city of Jefferson (pop. 7,338), Rainbow has been a fixture in that rural part of the state since 1990. 

How Your Donation Helps

Thanks to the generous donation of Mike and Terry's time, the estimated cost to produce and distribute this film has been reduced to $60,000.  Your contribution will help pay for such things as:

  • Production Costs

    Soundtrack, stock footage, hired talent (e.g., voice actor, grant writer, photographer), travel expenses, insurance, interview transcription,  supplies (e.g., external hard drives, digital video tapes, light bulbs), closed captioning, transfer to broadcast quality digital tape

  • Product Development

    DVD packaging and production

  • Marketing

    Film festival entry fees, posters, flyers, postage for direct mail, website development and maintenance, website hosting

  • Legal

    Copyright and trademark protection, licensing

Your Help Will Be Recognized in Several Ways

Gold Sponsors ($5,000 plus)

  • Invitation to a private showing and reception (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized in the film's credits (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized in the DVD packaging (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized in the DVD's credit (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized on the film's website

Silver Sponsors ($2,500 plus)

  • Recognized in the film's credits (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized in the DVD packaging (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized in the DVD's credit (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized on the film's website

Bronze Sponsors ($1,000 plus)

  • Recognized in the DVD packaging (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized in the DVD's credit (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized on the film's website

Friends of Consider the Conversation (up to $1,000)

  • Recognized in the DVD's credit (this opportunity is now closed)
  • Recognized on the film's website