Dr. Kathleen Deloach Benton, President & CEO of Hospice Savannah, Inc. and the Steward Center for Palliative Care, has published Finding Dignity at the End of Life: A Spiritual Reflection on Palliative Care, 2020, Routledge Press, which she co-edited with professional colleague and friend, Renzo Pegoraro.
The former Director of Clinical Ethics and Palliative Care for St. Joseph’s/Candler, Dr. Benton has served as Hospice Savannah’s President and CEO since early 2019. A native of Savannah, GA, she holds a Doctorate in Public Health from Georgia Southern University and is the author of many reviews and articles including The Skill of End-of-Life Communication for Clinicians: Getting to the Root of the Ethical Dilemma, 2017, Springer Publishing.
Monsignor Renzo Pegoraro is a physician, author, bioethicist and Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy for Life at the Vatican. He had previously joined Dr. Benton as a co-speaker for Hospice Savannah’s 11th Annual Lecture Series, presented by St. Joseph’s/Candler Foundations, in January of last year.
Finding Dignity at End of Life discusses the need for palliative care as a fundamental human right, and examines the concept from the perspective of faith, ideology, culture and nationality. Contributors include Harvard Professor and former Assistant Secretary for Health for the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Dr. Howard K. Hoh, and Rachel Naomi Remen, author of Kitchen Table Wisdom: Stories that Heal. The authors hope mental health practitioners, allied professionals and theologians will find it a useful and reflective guide. The book is available on Amazon, and through Barnes & Noble and other major booksellers.