November 2023 Workshop

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Conversation of Your Life and Medical Aid in Dying (M.A.I.D.)- NJ Law and Process - A Family Story

Tuesday, November 21, 2023

1:30PM- 3:00PM

Presenters: Christopher Kellogg, MSW, LSW Aging Life Care Professional® and COO of NightingaleNJ, LLC and Michael J. Frost, LCSW, ACSW Director, Somerset County Department of Human Services

Everyone should have “The Talk”, or the “Conversation of your Life”, also known as Advanced Care Planning. Advanced Care Planning consists of sharing preferences of your end-of-life care with your loved ones and your doctors. It’s not enough to be able to say, “they know what I want when that time happens”, it needs to be written down so in case you’re unable to speak for yourself, the healthcare treatment you receive is consistent with what you want. By having these emotionally taxing decisions made clear so that your hopes, wishes, and expectations can be met, you will have peace of mind. The hidden gift is also that your loved ones will know they have made sure that they honored your wishes and guaranteed that your voice was heard, thus ensuring their own future peace of mind. This workshop will close with a presentation on New Jersey’s Medical Aid in Dying Law (M.A.I.D.) and how it works, including a personal story regarding a family member’s decision to utilize it to end their own life.

Note: This workshop has passed

Workshop Presenter

Christopher Kellogg, MSW, LSW, has been a passionate advocate for seniors throughout his more than 20 years in long term and subacute care. He prides himself on forging through obstacles to support his clients' wishes, collaborating with providers throughout the community to create seamless transitions and ensure continuity of care.

Through his ongoing relationships with clients, families and providers in the community, Chris became increasingly concerned about the ability of older adults and their families to meet the challenges they faced upon returning home, and the gaps in the system which led to those challenges. It was this concern that led him to be the driving force in founding Nightingale NJ.

An exceptionally empathic and experienced Aging Lifecare Professional®, Chris is adept at simplifying complex medical and procedural information into language meaningful to clients and their families.

Chris earned BA degrees in Psychology and Sociology from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He earned his MSW from Boston University with a concentration in Gerontology in 2001, and was awarded the Louis Lowy Scholarship for excellence in Gerontology. He has been practicing as a NJ Board Certified Licensed Social Worker for more than 20 years and volunteers his time for the Alzheimer’s Association of NJ.

Chris loves to spend time coaching his two children in their various sports, and through active volunteering he and his wife hope to instill in their children the value of helping others, and the importance of giving back to community.

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