What Mortality Can Teach Us About Living: A Conversation about COVID-19 and Life with Dr. Ira Byock
A Very Special Online Salon
Thursday, April 16th 5:30-7pm PST
“As a physician I am convinced that it is hygienic…to discover in death a goal toward which one can strive; and that shrinking away from it is something unhealthy and abnormal which robs the second half of life of its purpose.”
Dr. Ira Byock
In this special evening Salon, Dr. Ira Byock will present his thoughts on this moment societally and personally, as a specialist in end-of-life care and a physician working daily to help prepare a healthcare system to manage the crisis of COVID-19. He will be joined in conversation by his daughter, Salome Institute director, Satya Doyle Byock.
Dr. Byock’s recent article, “This Pandemic is Personal” speaks to the heart of what we can all learn from this collective moment about facing the reality of mortality, both logistically (preparing a “in case of death” box with passwords and documents) and spiritually.
In addition to Dr. Byock’s logistical advice and spiritual reflections on these times, there will be some conversation between this father and daughter about how personal and relevant these times are to them both. There will be time for Q&A at the end.
Ira Byock, MD is a leading medical authority and public advocate for improving care through the end of life. He is the founder and chief medical officer of the Institute for Human Caring, a component of Providence St. Joseph Health. Dr. Byock has been clinically involved in hospice and palliative care since 1978. His research has contributed to conceptual frameworks for the lived experience of illness; measures for subjective quality of life during illness; and counseling methods for life completion. His research and writing examine the human potential for wellbeing through the end of life. From 2003 to 2013, he directed the palliative care program at Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. He is a past president of the Academy of Hospice and Palliative Medicine. Dr. Byock’s books include, Dying Well, The Four Things That Matter Most, and The Best Care Possible.
This salon is free and open to the public. Please join us!
In case you missed it…
Your small donations support the continuation of free salons during quarantine.