Dr. Sunita Puri is next on their illuminate Speaker Series line up and will present Language as Medicine: Finding the Right Words for the Right Conversations. Courtesy photo.
SANTA BARBARA — Hospice of Santa Barbara (HSB) has adjusted to the new realities that come with COVID-19 by creating their illuminate Speaker Series – a series which not only addresses aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic but also offers help to those struggling to understand their place in this new reality.
One way the organization is transitioning to serve is to provide helpful resources to our community and beyond as they relate to COVID-19 through this virtual series that features a new world-renowned speaker every month. Past speakers include Roshi Joan Halifax, Frank Ostaseski, Katy Butler, Sharon Salzberg, and Dr. BJ Miller.
Next up on the illuminate Speaker Series line-up is Dr. Sunita Puri, who will present Language as Medicine: Finding the Right Words for the Right Conversations on Wednesday, April 21st at 6:00 PM PDT. The event is free, but registration is required.
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? In this webinar, Dr. Puri will cover how 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. 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 as well as discuss 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.
Not only is Dr. Puri the medical director of Palliative Medicine at USC, she is also the medical director of Supportive Care Service at the Keck Hospital and Norris Cancer Center of USC, 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.
“The illuminate Speaker Series was established to address many of the struggles we face that have been heightened during the pandemic,” said David Selberg, CEO of Hospice of Santa Barbara. “We are excited to have Dr. Sunita Puri bring her extensive knowledge to our series, especially because she will touch on topics that are in line with what Hospice of Santa Barbara is really about.”
As we all know, people are reeling from this world-wide crisis emotionally, socially, and economically. People have shared a variety of intense feelings they are experiencing during this time, among them: fear, deep sadness, anxiety, grief, uncertainty over the present and what the future holds, vulnerability, despair, anger, hopelessness. HSB will have a new nationally-known speaker every month.
The series continues through 2021 with Jenée Johnson in May, Nora McIerny in July, and Pico Iyer in August. Hospice of Santa Barbara would like to give a special thanks to Natalie Orfalea Foundation and Lou Buglioli, Ridley-Tree Cancer Center, and Santa Barbara Foundation for sponsoring this event.
To find out more, and to register for this free event, please visit: http://www.hospiceofsb.org/hsbseries.
Para obtener más información y registrarse para el evento, visite: http://www.hospiceofsb.org/hsbseries.
Interpretación simultanea al español disponsible.
Hospice of Santa Barbara — Hospice of Santa Barbara provides professional counseling, support groups, and patient care services free of charge to individuals and families who are grieving the death of a loved one or experiencing the impact of a life-threatening illness. Hospice of Santa Barbara also provides counseling in our offices and on fifteen local junior and high school campuses to children and teens who are grieving the loss of a loved one. For more information about Hospice of Santa Barbara, including volunteer opportunities, call (805) 563-8820 or visit www.hospiceofsantabarbara.org.