Our Mission: To educate and raise awareness within San Diego County about end-of-life issues and to provide resources to help people make informed choices.
Upcoming webinar:
Join us for FREE Webinar on Wednesday, August 19, 2020
10:30-11:30AM PDT
At the end of this presentation, participants will be familiar with
• psychosocial issues of End of Life Care
• care planning of said issues in a healthcare setting.
Guest Speaker: Ben Janzen
Ben Janzen grew up in Germany as the youngest of three. Upon finishing High School, he joined the Franciscan Capuchin Order of the Roman Catholic Church where he enjoyed his education as a Catholic Theologian within the Franciscan tradition. When he received his doctorate in Theology, he became a lecturer at the Franciscan College for Philosophy and Theology in Muenster, Germany. His love for Star Trek and anything SciFi brought him to the USA. He studied comparative literature at UC Riverside working on the role of Spirituality and Religion in Star Trek and graduated with a Ph.D. in 2006. A year earlier, he had met his now husband Sal and consequently left the Order. Ben has been working with VITAS Healthcare, San Diego, as a Chaplain since 2010. In 2015, he took the position of Bereavement Services Manager. Ben was certified as an Advanced Practice Board Certified Chaplain (APBCC) and as a Grief Recovery Method Specialist (GRMS). Ben is the chair of the board of the San Diego County Coalition for the Improvement of End of Life Care and member of the planning committee for the Beautiful Dying Expo. In June 2020, Ben was ordained in the Progressive Catholic Church and serves as contact person for End of Life support within the Church.
Ben and Sal have a dog, Sammy, and they enjoy traveling, cooking, baking and anything having to do with food.
Register/ RSVP HERE
SDCCEOLC Virtual Monthly Meeting:
” Using Art to Open Doors to Conversation”
Join San Diego County Coalition for Improving End-of-Life Care Monthly Meeting
September 2, 2020 10:30am – 12pm
Learning Objectives
1. Identify the effect different art medium have in eliciting self-expression.
2. Recognize the value of the art process in palliative care.
3. Formulate ways the process of art making relates to the conversation process.
**Also Optional Participation: If you have multicolored construction or printer paper and glue to participate in a short art project.
Guest Speaker: Ellen Stirling
Ellen Stirling has helped children and their families deal with grief since 1974. She began her career in thanatology working in pediatric oncology as a nurse clinician helping families understand their child’s diagnosis and treatment. Ellen’s thesis work for her Masters in Children and Adolescent Nursing focused on the child’s concept of death and dying. She later obtained a Masters in Art Therapy Counseling in 2003. Ellen has worked most recently in private art therapy practice helping families have conversations about trauma, life-limiting illnesses and loss. Currently Ellen is teaching an online healing through arts course. Her favorite medium is watercolor.
Register/ RSVP HERE
PLEASE NOTE: Our monthly in-person public meetings are suspended until further notice. Be sure to sign up for our newsletter to receive updates about future meetings and online meetings. Please refer to these resources for current information about the COVID-19 pandemic:
COVID19 Resource(s)
- Center for Disease Control https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/index.html
- California Department of Public Health https://www.cdph.ca.gov/Programs/CID/DCDC/Pages/Immunization/nCOV2019.aspx
- San Diego County https://www.sandiegocounty.gov/coronavirus.html
- 211 San Diego: https://211sandiego.org/
- Food-Meal Resources https://211sandiego.org/resources/health-wellness/covid-19-resources/#food
- National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO) https://www.nhpco.org/coronavirus/
- How to Talk About The End of Life in the Age of The Coronavirus https://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2020/04/14/coronavirus-advance-health-care-directive
We are a member of 
Please follow this link for information on upcoming Coalition for Compassionate Care of California events and trainings.
More Resources About Conversations On End-Of-Life Care
- For our most recent monthly enewsletter click here .
- Join our Mailing List click here .
For More Information: click here . and send an e-mail to the San Diego County Coalition. One of our members will return your request as soon as possible. Or write us at San Diego County Coalition for Improving End-of-Life Care, P.O. Box 23674, San Diego, CA 92193.
Board Members:
Ben Janzen, Chair
Veva Arroyo, Secretary
Susana Concha-Garcia, Treasurer