Please join us this evening, April 21 at 6:00 pm PDT for Dr. Sunita Puri's illuminate presentation: Language as Medicine: Finding the Right Words for the Right Conversations as she discusses how the COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with an opportunity to begin crucial conversations, which offers an opportunity for true intimacy with the people we love. Register now or see below for more information.
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A Message from
David Selberg
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Dear Friends,
We are very excited about Dr. Sunita Puri's illuminate Speaker Series event this evening. As you may recall, we had Dr. Puri scheduled to speak at our annual "in person" event at the Marjorie Luke Theatre last year just as the pandemic hit so we are thrilled that she has agreed to speak as part of our illuminate Speaker Series.
Dr. Puri gets to the heart of so much of our work bridging the gap between doctors and palliative care and the language and conversations we have around death and dying. She uses a personal approach and shares stories from her own life to reveal the power of compassionate communication with our loved ones. In the early days of Hospice of Santa Barbara, 47 years ago now, our work in meeting emotional and spiritual end-of-life needs was quite a novel concept for many in the medical community. Now, Dr. Puri is using her platform as a doctor to integrate these important end-of-life elements into the medical field. She teaches principles of palliative medicine and advanced clinical ethics to medical students, residents, and fellows and has been interviewed by the New York Times, BBC, NPR, and many more, on topics ranging from physician aid-in-dying to the experience of practicing palliative care. We hope you will join us this evening!
Be well,
David Selberg
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JOY!
By Jeanne West, Community Engagement Manager
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What a perfect title for this article and the message that I am about to share with you. You are unlikely to hear about this anywhere else, unless you have a relative or friend that resides at Oak Cottage, a Memory Care Assisted Living Community here in Santa Barbara.
Back in March of 2020 when awareness of COVID-19 began to surface, I felt it was important to reach out to our colleagues in long term care settings, just to offer moral support and ask what major issues were emerging. As Community Engagement Manager for Hospice of Santa Barbara, that was a very natural extension of my work and I quickly found that administrators and staff were quite pleased with the outreach and relieved to discuss their concerns about what residents and families were experiencing.
Like all other care settings here and everywhere, residents at this Assisted Living Community were not permitted to have visitors for most of the past year, except for seeing loved ones via ‘window visits’ or Zoom or Facetime, followed later by “porch” visits. Imagine that your Mother or Brother or dear friend is in a care setting and you must be isolated from seeing them, to keep both of you safe and protected from the dread COVID-19.
Now take that a step further. These residents have memory loss and family worries magnified, causing one daughter to wonder, “Will Mom recognize me when I do get to visit her in person?” Or as other families have questioned, “will there be any signs of joy and happiness when we are able to reconnect?” Or as yet another daughter tearfully shared, “Will my Mom still be alive by the time the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted?”
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We need your help with Quality of Life Financial Assistance for families impacted by COVID-19!
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UPDATE: We have raised $8,412 to date! Please help us reach our goal of $15,000 by May 1, 2021. All donations to our Quality of Life Financial Assistance, will go directly to Santa Barbara community members whose lives have been turned upside down by the pandemic. We cannot let the pandemic take away people’s ability to pay for rent, groceries, or healthcare. Donate below and share the link with your friends and family!
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Julia moved in with her mother to help support her during the pandemic. Soon after, Julia was laid off from her job and her mother tested COVID-19 positive. Neither could leave for any essential items that they were in serious need of. Through HSB's Quality of Life Financial Assistance, we were able to help cover the medical bills for Julia’s mother, and we also connected them with Foodbank of Santa Barbara County to help deliver fruits and vegetables.
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Dr. Sunita Puri!
Today, April 21 at 6:00 PM PDT
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Dr. Sunita Puri will be joining us today, April 21, from 6:00 - 7:00 PM PDT. Dr. Sunita Puri will present Language as Medicine: Finding the Right Words for the Right Conversations.
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Dr. Sunita Puri is the Medical Director of the Palliative Medicine and Supportive Care Service at the Keck Hospital and Norris Cancer Center of the University of Southern California, where she also serves as Chair of the Ethics Committee. She graduated from Yale University with a B.A. in Anthropology and studied Modern History at Oxford University as a Rhodes Scholar. She completed medical school and residency training in Internal Medicine at the University of California San Francisco, and fellowship training in Hospice and Palliative Medicine at Stanford University. |
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We may know intellectually that mortality is inevitable, but how do we access the language and state of mind necessary to consider the type of care we and our loved ones want when we fall ill? The COVID-19 pandemic has presented us with an opportunity to begin this crucial conversation, which offers an opportunity for true intimacy with the people we love. Dr. Sunita Puri, author of the acclaimed literary memoir, That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour, will share her wisdom on this subject based on her work as Medical Director of Palliative Medicine at USC, and her frontline experience having these discussions with patients and families during the COVID-19 pandemic. Timely conversations, conducted with compassion and precision, have the potential to avoid at least some of the suffering she has witnessed over the last year. |
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The event is FREE and open to the community, but registration is required. |
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In this evening's event with Dr. Sunita Puri, she will converse with two well respected panel members who will keep you intrigued and engaged. They will allow for a deeper exploration on Dr. Puri's knowledge and experience. Meet our panel members below!
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Lois Capps is committed to helping people improve their daily lives through better schools, quality health care, and a cleaner environment. Before succeeding her husband Walter in Congress, Lois had successful careers in both nursing and education. Her experience in these two areas deeply informed her eighteen years of work in Congress. Capps was a respected leader in Congress and also a leader in gender and LGBTQ issues as well as efforts to make college more affordable.
She retired from Congress in January of 2017 and is grateful to return and engage full-time with the community she loves. She is the proud grandmother to eight wonderful children.
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Rev. Julia Hamilton is the Lead Minister at the Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, the Rev. Julia Hamilton works to nurture a multigenerational community of love and justice. A graduate of Harvard Divinity School, she spent two years as the Executive Director of the Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey before heading back to California in 2011. One of her primary passions is spiritually grounded social justice work and bringing people together to build a more compassionate world.
She lives with her spouse and daughter and an assortment of pets.
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INTERPRETACIÓN
SIMULTANEA AL ESPAÑOL DISPONIBLE.
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EL EVENTO ES GRATIS, pero se requiere registración. |
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El lenguaje como medicina: encontrando palabras adecuadas para conversaciones adecuadas Intelectualmente sabemos que la muerte es inevitable, pero ¿cómo encontramos el lenguaje y el estado mental para considerar el tipo de atención médica que nosotros mismos, y nuestros seres queridos, queremos si nos llegáramos a enfermar gravemente? La pandemia de COVID nos ha brindado la oportunidad de comenzar esta conversación tan importante, una oportunidad que nos permite platicar con las personas que más amamos de una manera muy intima. La Dra. Sunita Puri, autora de la aclamada memoria literaria, That Good Night: Life and Medicine in the Eleventh Hour, compartirá su sabiduría sobre este tema basándose en su trabajo como directora médica de medicina paliativa en USC, y su experiencia personal teniendo estas conversaciones con pacientes y familiares durante la pandemia de COVID. Las conversaciones oportunas, realizadas con compasión y precisión, tienen el potencial de evitar al menos parte del sufrimiento que se ha presenciado durante el último año.
Fecha: miércoles 21 de abril del 2021
Hora: 6:00 PDT
Costo: Gratis
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THANK YOU TO OUR SPONSORS |
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Are you interested in becoming a sponsor for illuminate Speaker Series? Contact Charles Caldwell at ccaldwell@hospiceofsb.org.
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Happy work anniversary to Samantha, Jeff, Valerie, and Mary! |
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Thank you Samantha, Jeff, Valerie, and Mary for all your contributions to Hospice of Santa Barbara! We are eternally grateful for the dedication and passion of our staff. To learn more about our wonderful staff, please visit our website.
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Samantha Lockett,
Director of Operations, celebrates her
7-year anniversary.
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Jeff Martinez,
Director of Finance, celebrates his 6-year anniversary.
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Valerie Moore-Altavilla,
Bereavement Counselor, celebrates her 3-year anniversary.
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Mary deLoe,
Care Coordinator, celebrates her 1-year anniversary.
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Thank you for all that you do to support our work!
It is a remarkable privilege to witness the difference we make for those we serve on a daily basis. It is only through your generosity that we can accomplish all that we do and will in the future.
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Phone: (805) 563-8820
Fax: (805) 563-8821
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