- Spurred by a national public television series, a local group
hopes to make it a bit easier for people to discuss dying and
end-of-life care decisions.
This month, PBS will broadcast a four-part series, narrated by
award-winning journalist Bill Moyers, titled "On Our Own
Terms: Moyers on Dying." Local PBS stations will air the
90-minute programs at 8 p.m. Sept. 10 to 13.
To promote local discussion of these issues, members of the Lawrence
Caring Community Council will lead public meetings at six locations
following the Moyers series.
Jeff Weinberg, assistant to the chancellor, is a member of the
council. He encourages people of all ages to watch the series
and attend the discussions.
"It's one thing to sit in front of your TV, either by yourself
or with another member of your family, and listen to these very
impressive conversations during the video," he said. "But
it's a whole other world to sit down with other people and talk
through these issues.
"That's the real purposes of these conversations to take
them beyond the family room to the real world. I think it will
help people to talk through these very difficult issues with
other people from different walks of life."
Six discussions, which are expected to last about an hour, are
scheduled Sept. 14 in Lawrence. Sessions planned at 1 p.m. that
day are:
· Smith Center at Brandon Woods Retirement Community,
1501 Inverness Drive.
· Lawrence Senior Center, 745 Vermont St.
· United Way Center, 2518 Ridge Court.
Two sessions will be at 7 p.m. Sept. 14 at:
· Knights of Columbus, 2206 E. 23rd St.
· Lawrence Memorial Hospital auditorium, 325 Maine St.
Lawrence Presbyterian Manor, 1429 Kasold Drive, also will sponsor
daily discussion sessions at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 11 to 14.
"People should be able to communicate their wishes about
their care at the end of their lives and be assured that those
wishes will be carried out," said Emily Taylor, KU dean
of women emerita and chair of the Lawrence council.
Other KU employees on the council are Caroljean Brune, assistant
to the dean of education; Richard Schiefelbusch, distinguished
professor emeritus and founding director of Schiefelbusch Institute
for Life Span Studies; and Janet Riley, associate director of
budget management and fiscal services.
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