Dr. JESSICA ZITTER
SCHENECTADY– Dr. Jessica Zitter, MD, MPH, physician and author, will lead a virtual discussion on Thursday, Jan. 16, at 7:30 p.m., advocating for a transformative approach to end-of-life care.
According to organizers, the doctor will draw from her dual expertise in ICU and palliative care medicine, to shed light on the crisis created by the overuse of technology in treating dying patients and will emphasize the need for a more compassionate, human-centered approach.
Zitter is the author of the book, Extreme Measures: Finding a Better Path to the End of Life, which offers her perspective on intensive care in the U.S. and its impact on how individuals experience death. Her essays have been published in The New York Times, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Time Magazine, and other medical journals.
Her work has also reached international audiences through the Oscar and Emmy-nominated Netflix documentary “Extremis,” as well as “Caregiver: A Love Story,” an exploration of family caregiver burdens. She is finishing her first feature-length film, “The Chaplain & The Doctor,” which will be released in 2025. She founded a nonprofit, Reel Medicine Media, in 2022 to amplify the messages of her films and to inspire conversations.
A graduate of Stanford University and Case Western Reserve University Medical School, Zitter earned a master’s degree of public health from the University of California, Berkeley. Her medical training includes an internal medicine residency at Harvard’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital and a fellowship in pulmonary/critical care at the University of California, San Francisco.
According to organizers, Zitter uses storytelling to inspire meaningful conversations about end-of-life care and offers a path forward for patients, families, and caregivers alike.
Registration is required. Those planning to be part of the Zoom conversation are asked to visit the congregation’s website, www.cgoh.org or call/e-mail Arnie Rotenberg at 518-374-0183, [email protected].
