End-of-life care conference poses essential questions

Sherry Campbell talks about Welcome Home a presentation to area nonprofits held at Ray Evans Transit Center on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Welcome Home houses the terminally ill homeless to provide them with safe end-of-life care.
Sherry Campbell talks about Welcome Home a presentation to area nonprofits held at Ray Evans Transit Center on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Welcome Home houses the terminally ill homeless to provide them with safe end-of-life care.

Remember the Salt-N-Pepa song "Let's Talk About Sex"? Sherry Campbell, co-founder and director of a hospice for the homeless, thinks maybe she can get your attention for another important topic the same way: "Let's talk about death, baby."

Believing that American culture has mystified death, Campbell hopes to restart a conversation.

"People have stopped talking about [death]. It's become taboo, and I don't think that's served our society really well," says Campbell, co-founder and director of the nonprofit Welcome Home. "We don't talk about our health-care wishes. We don't talk about those final wishes, the people we want to see or the things we'd like to do before we die."

If you go

› What: Demystifying Death and Dying spring conference.› When: 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Friday, April 27.› Where: First Baptist Church, 401 Gateway Ave.› Admission: $45.› Information: Call Sherry Campbell at 423-486-4001.Keynote SpeakerFeatured speaker Martha Jo Atkins is executive director of Abode Contemplative Care for the Dying in San Antonio, Texas, and the author of “Signposts of Dying,” which explains some of the ignored or unrecognized aspects of the dying process.

photo Sherry Campbell talks about Welcome Home a presentation to area nonprofits held at Ray Evans Transit Center on Thursday, Sept. 14, 2017, in Chattanooga, Tenn. Welcome Home houses the terminally ill homeless to provide them with safe end-of-life care.

To help people put some of those issues in perspective, Welcome Home is hosting its second annual Demystifying Death and Dying Conference. It's scheduled 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Friday at First Baptist Church, 401 Gateway Ave.

Campbell cautions that avoiding the topic doesn't make for a peaceful death.

"If you were told you were dying, there may be something you want to say to your family," she says.

Local physicians say they've also witnessed fights in the emergency room when people are trying to decide whether or not to take a loved one off a respirator. The matter could be avoided by people discussing and putting into writing their wishes for end-of-life care.

Dr. Martha Jo Atkins, executive director of Abode Contemplative Care for the Dying in San Antonio, Texas, will present on the subject of death and dying, including deathbed visions, the language of the dying and meaning-making at the end of life.

"I often see people who are frightened to be around people who are dying because they don't know what to expect and they don't want to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing," says Atkins.

Remember, they are people first, she suggests. All people have fears and regrets. People who are dying just have less time with theirs.

"I love it when people are able to go with people who are dying and they go with their whole self. They go with their scared self and their sad self. We can go and just be there. Sometimes that's the greatest thing, just walk into a room and sit in a chair and just breathe with them," says Atkins.

The conference will include breakout sessions covering the care after an unexpected death, compassionate touch and care for the dying, how to care for a hospice family, end-of-life care in a cultural context and many other topics.

Campbell says she wants to provide education for the public so death and end-of-life care isn't such a mysterious topic.

"We want to create opportunities for people to talk about it and make it more acceptable," she says.

Contact Yolanda Putman at yputman@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6431.

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