Kathy Kortes-Miller, MSW, PhD
Kathy is an unconventional death educator with a passion for palliative care and improving the end of life care for all. Kathy has been teaching and researching at Lakehead University for over a decade. In her work, Kathy inspires and challenges future healthcare providers to be prepared to care for individuals who are dying, and their families, in healthcare settings. Kathy leverages her experiences as a cancer survivor and as a palliative care provider to challenge us to have the important conversations about dying, death and life. Kathy strives to make an impact with her teaching, research and speaking to discover, share and communicate the information that we are all "dying to know."
Purchase Kathy's book: Talking About Death Won't Kill You; The Essential Guide to End-of-Life Conversations (2018) Online through Amazon and Chapters
"Practical, compassionate, wise: Talking about death won’t kill you is an invaluable guide for patients, caregivers and medical professionals alike. It’s comprehensive without being onerous. Kortes-Miller’s examples illuminate her most telling points, and their authenticity is palpable, as they are drawn from her own experiences and her practice, These are conversations which most of us find challenging at best. This book will open those conversational doors for all Canadians."
- Phil Dwyer, author of Conversations on Dying
"I have always appreciated Kathy Kortes-Miller’s well-earned status as a key opinion leader in end of life care. Her terrific and highly read-able book, Talking About Death Won’t Kill You! The Essential Guide to End-of-Life Conversations should be considered essential reading. With insights born of her commitment to her profession, Kathy Kortes-MIller gives readers concrete strategies when facing life’s end. Rather than preaching, she empowers both patients and caregivers with questions that help focus on strengths. One of my favorites: 'what challenges have you overcome in the past? How can you use those skills and resources to help face the challenges of end of life?'"
- Kathy Kastner, Blogger, BestEndings.com Author: Death Kills…and other things I’ve learned on the internet