BETHEL — “End of Life Care: Having the Conversation” will be presented from from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, April 30, at the Bethel Congregational Church, 32 Church St.

The program is sponsored by To Your Health of Western Mountains Senior College to inspire a dialogue about end-of-life issues.

The program will be based on the book, “Being Mortal,” by Atul Gawande who states, “The ultimate goal is not a good death but a good life – all the way to the end.” The book has generated high interest throughout the country.

Hard questions that need to be asked about quality of life will be addressed and discussed by a five-member panel in this interactive program.

“Having discussions about end of life choices may be uncomfortable, but such conversations are not fatal,” said Dr. Roger Austin, medical director of Hospice House, Androscoggin Home Care and Hospice, for the past 10 years, and one of the panelists.

He will be joined on the panel by Rev. Richard Bennett, interim pastor of the West Parish Congregational Church in Bethel; Emily Ecker, licensed clinical social worker and polarity energy therapist; Jane Chandler, R.N., staff nurse with A.H.C.H. for 20 years and Michele Lowell, home health aide at A.H.C.H. for the past 18 years.

Allen Cressy, who will serve as moderator, has been an active community volunteer since moving to Bethel 17 years ago. He has held leadership positions with the Bethel Area Chamber of Commerce, Bethel Historical Society and the Town of Bethel planning board.

To Your Health is sponsored by WMSC with the collaboration of Bethel Family Health Center and MSAD#44-Continuing Education.

The program is open to the public and admission is free. A follow-up program, “Aging in Place,” will be held on May 21. For more information, contact Rosabelle Tifft at 824-2053.

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