Tuesday, January 23, 12pm
Hotel Mision, Salida a Queretaro 1
Free

Death and Dying in Mexico: The Real Facts, Rotary - talk

Dra. Ma. de Lsourdes Tejeida and Martha Hamill, President of Mitigare Hospice will be making a presentation at the Rotary Midday meeting on Tuesday, January 23 at 12:00 pm. The meeting will be held at the Hotel Mision, Salida a Queretaro #1.

Mitigare Hospice has been operating for one year in San Miguel. Dra. Tejeda is the Medical Director and is one of only very few doctors in Mexico that hold the advanced degree certification in Palliative Medicine (Hospice). Snra. Hamill is a specialist in hospice care for the family and patient facing end of life issues. Hamill has a thanatologist degree and has been practicing for more than 20 years. She is also a specialist in bio-ethics and serves at the General Hospital consulting on bio-ethical issues. Thanatologists are experts in the spiritual and emotional care of families including grief issues.

Mitigare is a full-fledged hospice organization offering end-of-life care in the same manner that you would find in the United States or Canada. It is a non-profit organization and its fees are structured to offer a sliding scale option for those with fewer economic resources. See www.mitigare.org for additional information. All of Mitigare's staff, doctors, nurses and social workers, have taken postgraduate classes in hospice care.

Dra. Tejeida completed a one-year internship at the National Institute of Cancer (NCAN) before returning to San Miguel to set up the palliative care unit at Hospital General. She has treated over 500 dying patients over the last four years. Mitigare will be sending all of its nurses, doctors and social workers to INCAN in 2018 to complete mini-internships of two to three weeks. Dra. Tejeida is also a member of the Latin America Palliative Care Association (ALCP) and she and Hamill will be attended the biennial hospice care conference in Santiago, Chile in April of this year.

Dra. Tejeida says that, "one of the biggest misconceptions among the expat population regarding choosing to die in Mexico, is the confusion over advanced directives and palliative sedation. This will be the topic for discussion on Tuesday's presentation.
The Rotary Club of San Miguel Midday has a long history of supporting end-of-life care and members of the Rotary Club of San Miguel are providing free consultations on improving Mitigare's presence in the community.

Join us Tuesday, January 23rd to meet the leaders of Mitigare hospice and receive definitive answers of how end-of-life care is delivered in San Miguel. For questions, please contact Rotarian Lee Carter, Mitigare's treasurer at leecarco@gmail.com