Blog

MERI Center Blog

February 20, 2020
Events

 

I recently had the opportunity to attend the inaugural National Clinicians Conference on Medical Aid in Dying (NCCMAID) in Berkeley, California, thanks to the generous sponsorship I received from the MERI Education Scholarship Fund in the spring of 2020. As a palliative care physician who cares for seriously ill patients, I found this educational experience to be incredibly rewarding and meaningful. While Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) has been legal in California since 2016, shepherding several of my patients through this process has taught me that we still have a lot of work to do to ensure that patients have equitable access to this service, and that providers can offer this important intervention knowing that we have the support of an effective and efficient institutional process behind us. Attending this conference has enabled me to feel more connected to a nation-wide network of competent and compassionate providers committed to this cause, as well as more comfortable providing this meaningful intervention to my patients who are suffering from terminal illness and strongly wish to pursue this option.

It was a huge privilege to meet so many providers from all over the country who offer MAID to their terminally ill patients, including Dr. Lonny Shavelson and his team. Lonny was the Chair of the NCCMAID conference and is the founding CEO of Bay Area End of Life Options, a medical practice devoted exclusively to the care of patients considering MAID.  Dr. Shavelson and his colleague, Thalia Wolf (RN), moderated several fascinating discussions on various...

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