Death with Dignity: Encountering Patients as Whole Persons

The 2014-2015 John Sweeney Lecture in Current Issues in Healthcare

Death with Dignity: Encountering Patients as Whole Persons In the face of terminal illness, Canadians hold widely divergent views on the ethics, spirituality and practical issues related to death and dying. Dr. Hazel Markwell, PhD, Director, Centre for Clinical Ethics for Providence Healthcare, St. Joseph’s Health Centre and St. Michael’s Hospital, Toronto, joins local palliative care specialist, Dr. Donna Ward, to discuss the complexity of end-of-life care. They will critically examine the nature of human persons and the value of life in order to suggest what it means to die with dignity. St. Mary’s General Hospital (SMGH) was founded over 85 years ago on the principles of inclusivity and openness. St. Mary’s mission was simply to care for the sick and needy, especially the poor and marginalized. In the tradition of the founding order, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Hamilton, SMGH continues to provide a place of healing for all people — a place where the sick are cared for in body, mind, and spirit