Advance Care Planning— The Most Important Decisions You Never Knew You Should Make

Dear friends,

As you may know, Hospice of Santa Barbara has a lofty goal of getting everyone in the greater Santa Barbara area over the age of 18 years of age to complete their Advance Directives and submit them to Cottage Hospital. 

We at HSB have seen and heard it many times, family members are suddenly faced with decisions regarding a seriously ill and incapacitated loved one who is not able to speak for themself and are often at odds with the right course of action because they have no idea what that loved one would have wanted. Would their loved one choose life sustaining treatment with little chance of improvement or recovery? Who would they have selected to make these decisions on their behalf?

Advance Care Planning is something that everyone should consider doing now regardless of age or medical condition. Making decisions about your future medical care is not just for you but it is also a gift for your family and will save them from potential guilt, heartache and conflict in the future.

Fortunately for all of us in south Santa Barbara county, Hospice of Santa Barbara is making it easy to document your future medical care decisions on paper and get them submitted to Cottage Health. Hospice of Santa Barbara Advance Care Planning staff and volunteers conduct free, monthly, in-person workshops in English and Spanish around town where participants can ask questions and get their document notarized for free and ready for submission to Cottage Health.

We are grateful to have our dedicated Advance Care Planning team, led by Adrianna Marroquin, assisting those in our community to "get it done".   

Our ACP services are available for everyone. To set up an appointment, learn more and RSVP for a workshop call 805-563-8820, email CommunityACP@hospiceofsb.org, or visit our website getitdonesb.org or miregalo.org, in Spanish.

Be well,

David Selberg

Please join us for our 40th Annual

Light Up A Life Ceremony

We are thrilled to host our 40th annual Light Up A Life ceremony! Each year, Hospice of Santa Barbara brings the communities of Santa Barbara, Montecito, Carpinteria and Goleta together for a ceremony of light, love, remembrance and unity.

The holiday season can stir up a range of emotions, including joy, stress, sadness, and everything in between. For those preparing to navigate the holiday season without cherished loved ones, this time of year can be even more difficult and HSB honors them every year with Light Up a Life. Light Up A Life is an opportunity for all to join together as communities unite to remember and honor the many that are missed this holiday season. 

Donations for both paper and digital stars can be made at www.hospiceofsb.org/lual

This year, we hope you join us at one or more of the locations listed below:

• Santa Barbara (Lobero Theatre) - Sunday, December 3
• 5:30 pm - Stars sales & childrenʼs choir, Program starts 30 min later

• Montecito (Upper Village Green) - Wednesday, December 6
• 4:00 pm - Stars sales & childrenʼs choir, Program starts 30 min later

• Carpinteria (Seal Fountain) - Saturday, December 9
• 5:00 pm - Stars sales & childrenʼs choir, Program starts 30 min later

• Goleta (Camino Real Marketplace) - Sunday, December 10
• 5:00 pm - Stars sales & childrenʼs choir, Program starts 30 min later

Your Broken Heart

By Angela Herrera

Don't leave your broken heart at the door;

bring it to the altar of life.

Don't leave your anger behind;

it has high standards

and the world needs vision.

Bring them with you,

and your joy

and your passion.

Bring your loving,

and your courage

and your conviction.

Bring your need for healing,

and your power to heal.

There is work to do

and you have all that you need to do it

right here in this room.

Volunteer Spotlight:

Lee Hoyt

Lee grew up in a small town in the Catskill Mountains, and has always loved the outdoors. Her father was a surgeon and at one time Lee thought she might study medicine. She went to college in New England, studying Biology and Art. Sadly her parents died while she was in college and she changed her path slightly and started to teach. She obtained a Masters in English and taught in independent schools on the East Coast.

Lee met her husband while completing a NOLS Leadership course. They lived in Amsterdam for a while and eventually decided Santa Barbara felt like home. Lee is a trained funeral guide and an EOL Doula. She volunteered at a Gilcrest Hospice for 15+ years. She is a graduate of the Metta Institute, which is where she first heard about HSB through various members, particularly Suzanne Retzinger.

Lee joined the Volunteer Training Program in 2022 and described the course as “spectacular”. Her first task as a volunteer with us, was as a companion for a bereavement client – she learned so much about the many issues that surface after your partner dies; such as learning to downsize, finding assisted living accommodation if needed, and all the transitions involved at this time of life. She is currently volunteering for a family, and is inspired to see the strength needed to deal with a life-threatening illness that affects the whole family, not to mention being in a new country, with all the bureaucratic hoops one has to jump through.

Happy work anniversary to Dessire, Noelle and Chris!

Dessire Sedano, Intake Coordinator, celebrates her one-year anniversary.

Noelle Clearwater, M.A., Registered Associate MFT, Bereavement Counselor, celebrates her 6-year anniversary.

Chris Davis, Public Relations Director, celebrates his 23-year anniversary.

Get It Done SB! (GIDSB) and Mi Regalo (MR) are HSB’s Advance Care Planning (ACP) programs, focused on bringing awareness and education in English and Spanish to ensure that all of our community members have a completed Advance Directive before they need one.

RSVP to Attend an Upcoming Community Workshop:

• 11/7 and 11/14 6:30-8:00 PM at Eastside Neighborhood Clinic (ENGLISH)
• 11/21 and 11/28 6:30-8:00 PM at Eastside Neighborhood Clinic (SPANISH)



Only need notary services? Join us at Part 2 of any of our community workshops and get your document notarized or schedule a one-on-one appointment with one of our trained facilitators. Call or email for more information.

Join our growing team of volunteer facilitators and help our community ‘Get it Done’!

We are looking for enthusiastic and compassionate individuals to help us facilitate workshops and/or one-on-one appointments with community members interested in Advance Care Planning. A three day training will take place in Spring 2024, join us! 



For more information on Advance Care Planning, upcoming workshops or to request one-on-one help from our experienced volunteers, visit Get It Done SB! (English) or Mi Regalo (Spanish). You can also call us at 805-705-4846 or email us at CommunityACP@hospiceofsb.org.