CHW’s Death Over Dinner events grew out of a local cancer survivorship survey we conducted in 2014 to gather information about the needs of cancer survivors in our area. This survey indicated that questions about end of life decisions was a major concern for cancer survivors regardless of demographics or years of survivorship. As a result, CHW joined the “Let’s Have Dinner and Talk About Death” national movement, which strives to normalize conversations surrounding death and dying with dignity. CHW held our first Death over Dinner event in early 2015 in partnership with several local attorneys. The event, held at a local restaurant, included general information about advanced directives, wills, estate planning, and even technical information about the implications of artificial nutrition and hydration. A post event feedback survey among all attendees revealed that:

• 82% of participants indicated that they attended the event because they wanted to be prepared for the future
• 100% of participants indicated that they learned many new things that would be useful, and
• 91% of participants indicated that their next step would be to talk to their family and friends about this topic

Since this first event, CHW has expanded this program throughout central and south east Georgia in partnership with local attorneys in each area. We also now hold a number events each year specifically for community partners and area stakeholders to learn about these issues to better serve their constituents.

The Covid-19 pandemic unfortunately necessitated that we suspend in person Death over Dinner events; however, we have been able to partner with several attorneys to conduct similar virtual events via Facebook and Instagram live. Check out our event schedule for our next event.