USI to host screening, panel discussion of "Being Mortal" film

The University of Southern Indiana will host a free public screening of the PBS Frontline film, Being Mortal, as well as a panel discussion, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Thursday, November 3 in Carter Hall located in University Center West. The event is being presented by St. Mary's Health.

Sponsored by the Indianapolis Coalition for Patient Safety, the 50-minutes film Being Mortal is based on the 2014 bestselling book by surgeon Dr. Atul Gawande, who discusses the role of medicine in sustaining life and during the end of life. While modern medicine has been able to manage many hospital cases, those involving advanced age and impending death frequently contradict the desires of the human spirit. Patients are sometimes confined in nursing homes, dying patients may be isolated in hospitals, and efforts to extend life result in prolonged suffering.

A panel discussion, facilitated by Dr. Kevin Valadares, USI associate professor of health services and chair of Health Administration, will follow the screening of the film. The panel will consist of members of New Harmony Conversations, USI nursing alumnus Nick Rhodes, a USI faculty member and a local physician.

The purpose of the screening and discussion is to engage in a dialogue about advance care planning and sharing with loved ones and physicians what matters most, as well as helping individuals be more proactive about end-of-life situations through planning for the individual and their families.

For more information contact Valadares at 812-461-5277 or kvaladar@usi.edu.