We’ll view “Being Mortal,” a PBS Frontline film, featuring Dr. Atul Gawande, physician and writer, as he presents several families grappling with serious illness and end-of-life choices.  Like Dr. Gawande’s best-selling book, on which the film is based, “Being Mortal” explores the relationships between doctors and patients nearing the end of life, and shows how many doctors, including Dr. Gawande himself, struggle to talk honestly and openly.

Afterwards, our panelists will discuss topics raised by the film and address ways in which different cultures manage end-of-life care.

Our facilitator will be 2014 Jefferson-Award Winner, Patrick Arbore, EdD, Founder of The Friendship Line and Director of the Center for Elderly Suicide Prevention and Grief Related Services (CESP)—both programs at Institute on Aging.  Dr. Arbore conducts workshops and and presents lectures, locally and nationally, on aging-related subjects. He is also the author of numerous articles and book chapters on suicide prevention, bereavement, and suffering, including a chapter he co-authored entitled “Suffering and the Caring Professional” in When Professionals Weep: Emotional and Countertransference Responses in End-of-Life Care (2006).

Event is Free, but please register.

Panelists:

• Sophie Horiuchi-Forrester, MA Consultant AND Former Executive Director of Yu-Ai Kai Japanese American Community Senior Service of San Jose
• Angelica Leon, MSW, Social Worker/Case Mananger, Institute on Aging, Santa Clara Region Community Living Connection
• Sulochina Lulla, M.D., MPH, Allergist-Immunologist, Preceptor for Medical Residents of Kaiser Hospital, Santa Clara and for Nursing Students from San Jose University for School Health Nursing AND Representative from Pallium India, USA
• Chi Mai, RN, Stanford Healthcare E-2 ICU (Med/Surg/Neuro/Trauma) in Palo Alto, CA and Kaiser Permanente of Santa Clara Stroke Cardiac Telemetry Unit AND Research ambassador of the Stanford iSAGE program and the “Letter” project – educating the public about advance healthcare directives, power of attorney, and end-of-life decisions
• Jeanne Wun, Former Manager, Community Engagement & Community Relations of Hospice of the Valley, San Jose, AND Past Chair, Board of Directors Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care