Thank you for placing an article about death and dying on your front page this week!

Great interest exists on how to become permanent San Juan Island residents, yet information on how to make that a reality eludes many people.

To help address that need, Hospice of San Juan offers a monthly session called “Coping with Change” that seeks to provide people with nuts-and-bolts information about end-of-life issues and how to live and die here on the island.

So far this year we’ve discussed the Death With Dignity Act, how to formulate advanced directives, what the POLST form is and how it’s used, planning for care before and after death, choosing surrogate decision makers, and how to discuss one’s end-of-life wishes with friends and family.

This month we welcome Dr. Lisa Meserole, who will discuss end-of-life nutrition and help answer questions about the right things to eat and even whether or not it’s even important to eat.

How’s someone to know these things? Coping with Change: we meet on the third Wednesday of every month at the Library, from 6-7:30 p.m. Anyone may attend and it’s free of charge.

Thanks again for bringing this topic to the front page!

Mariluz Villa

President, Hospice of San Juan