The next meeting of the monthly “Life Cafe” takes place Thursday, May 23, at 4:00 pm at the Silver City Public Library, when former Hospice worker and end-of-life caregiver Siridharma Khalsa will discuss end-of-life options available in New Mexico. The monthly, 90-minute life cafe is free, and facilitated by Lisa Jimenez, certified death doula and practitioner of Shamanic healing arts.
“It’s so important that everyone become educated about what their end-of-life options are here in New Mexico, get clear about their personal wishes and share those with their loved ones and their primary care provider,” said Jimenez. “This is a great opportunity to learn about those options and understand how to be better prepared for death.”
End-of-life options currently available in New Mexico are medical aid in dying or MAID, which is available to mentally capable people with a terminal illness; voluntary stopping eating and drinking; palliative care, including sedation; deciding to forego or terminate medical treatments; continuing medical treatments regardless of prognosis; and Hospice care.
Siridharma Khalsa has lived in Grant County for nearly 30 years, and is a former Hospice worker and a volunteer with End of Life Options New Mexico, a non-profit organization which provides information and support for all end-of-life options, including medical aid in dying.
“The life cafe is open to everyone and embraces all ideas, cultural beliefs, practices and perspectives, and there is no intention to lead people to specific actions, conclusions, products or services,” added Jimenez.
For more information, please contact Lisa Jimenez, lmjimenez13@gmail.com or (575) 574-5473.