“Choosing to Prepare” Virtual Convening 9/30/20

Choosing to Prepare: Your Personal Power During a Pandemic
Presented by Alameda County Collaborative Care Alliance
September 30, 2020

The Choosing to Prepare: Your Personal Power During a Pandemic event was organized and presented by the Alameda County Collaborative Care Alliance (ACCA) in Oakland, CA was held on September 30, 2020 for affiliated pastors and faith leaders in California and nationwide.

The virtual event included a screening of the Academy Award nominated short film, Extremis, short presentations and break-out discussion groups. Extremis, https://www.netflix.com/title/80106307, is a short documentary following Dr. Jessica Zitter—an ICU physician, palliative care specialist, author and documentary film-maker—in the Highland Hospital intensive care unit (ICU) in Oakland, California. The film depicts the difficult care decisions that doctors, patients and families face at the end of life. ACCA has developed community discussion guides designed to engage African American faith communities in powerful discussions about end-of-life care and planning. To date, ACCA has hosted facilitated discussion groups for well over 100 pastors and faith leaders, locally and nationally. The discussion guides include four distinct modules and a train-the-trainer component for facilitators in preparation for broader dissemination. The September 30, 2020 drew from this experience presenting an overview for potential future discussion leaders.

This event was made possible with support from the Center for Practical Bioethics through a grant from the John and Wauna Harman Foundation.