Table Talk: Multicultural Perspectives on End-of-Life Planning
Dr. Tashel Bordere, Jacqueline Boyd, and Dr. Kate Grossman provides an overview of various aspects of end-of-life planning and strategies for people of color and LGBTQ+ folks to avoid missed opportunities to complete an advance directive, to receive palliative care, or to learn that hospice care is part of a toolkit for peaceful transitions. What are the main barriers to having end-of-life conversations with our loved ones, clients and diverse communities? For those perpetually in survival mode, what are the small steps to prepare for death and dying and how can they be facilitated?
Please note that Dr. Naheed Dosani is unable to participate in this event due to unforeseen circumstances.
Speakers
Tashel Bordere
Tashel Bordere, PhD. (she/her) has spent years researching the grief experience of black youth affected by homicide and gun violence. While many grieving people can relate to their grief being disregarded, for black youth and youth with marginalized identities, their grief not only goes unacknowledged, but is often penalized. Their behaviors and reactions, which are normal responses to grief, are met not with support and understanding, but with negative labels and punishment. This results in a concept Dr. Bordere has identified as suffocated grief and is rooted in systems of oppression and discrimination. Dr. Bordere, PhD, CT is a Certified Thanatologist and grant funded researcher at the Center for Family Policy and Research at the University of Missouri. She is also a past Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Forward Promise Fellow and the author of numerous research papers and publications focused on black youth affected by homicide, gun violence, and race-based trauma. She is the co-editor of the Handbook of Social Justice in Loss and Grief (Routledge, 2016)
Jacqueline Boyd
Jacqueline Boyd (she/her) is a passionate LGBTQ+ advocate with over 15 years of expertise in senior care. She built the country's premier LGBTQ+ centered care management company. The Care Plan’s ground-breaking model of client-directed care provides advocacy, care navigation and advance planning for successful aging experiences. Simultaneously, the company supplies training, strategic planning and infrastructural support to nonprofits, businesses and community groups across the US. At the helm of The Care Plan’s leadership, Jacqueline has consulted with national and local organizations such as SAGE, Diverse Elders Coalition, and AIDS Foundation Chicago to enhance services offered to LGBTQ+ older adults. She is a sought after speaker and author providing business leadership through presentations at the American Society on Aging National Conference, Creating Change Conference, the Los Angeles County Older Adult Summit, and University of Chicago among others. She recently contributed a chapter to Transgender and Gender Nonconforming Health and Aging, available from Springer Publishing and authored the guide Create Your Care Plan: An LGBT Person’s Guide To Preparing For Medical Procedures. Currently Jacqueline serves as the co-chair of One Roof Chicago, an intergenerational LGBTQ+ focused housing project. She is on the advisory council of Pride Action Tank and co-founder of Project Fierce Chicago. www.the-care-plan.com
Dr. Kate Grossman
Dr. Kate Grossman is a Pulmonary & Critical Care Physician where she also serves as Chief of the Department of Medicine. She is board-certified in Internal Medicine, Pediatrics, Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine. She attended medical school at the State University of New York - Downstate Medical Center. She completed both Internal Medicine and Pediatrics Residency at the University of Chicago followed by Pulmonary and Critical Care Fellowship at The Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
Naheed Dosani
As a palliative care physician and health justice activist, Naheed Dosani, MD (he/him) is dedicated to advancing equitable access to health care for people experiencing homelessness and marginalization. These efforts include founding Palliative Education and Care for the Homeless (PEACH) and serving as Medical Director for a regional COVID-19 Isolation/Housing Program in the Toronto area. Dr. Dosani shares his passion for health equity through education and advocacy efforts that include media, public speaking, social media and faculty appointments at the University of Toronto and McMaster University. Dr. Dosani's research interests include care models for people experiencing homelessness and access to palliative care among culturally diverse communities. His research also includes interventions to facilitate greater appreciation and uptake of palliative care services in South Asian populations. @NaheedD
About Table Talk
We recognize that marginalized communities and cultures -- Black, Indigenous, Latino/a/x, Asian American, Disabled, LGBTQ+, etc. -- have their own unique perspectives and shared truths. All of these groups face tremendous challenges in dealing with serious illness, dying, grief, discrimination. And there is a shared need for platforms to talk about these issues freely in order to connect, learn, heal, remember, and take action.
While individual Table Talks are developed by and for specific communities, we recognize that often these groupings are permeable. Many of us describe more than one group as “home,” and many of us have experienced oppression based on multiple aspects of our intersecting identities: race, ethnicity, gender, religion, sexual orientation, disability, and more.
Reimagine invites people of all backgrounds to join us to witness, listen and learn at Table Talk. Ultimately we are creating space rooted in the principles of Justice, Equity, Diversity & Inclusion in order for everyone to thrive.
Table Talk is made possible with support from the Fetzer Institute and the John and Wauna Harman Foundation.
