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Seton Hall University Health and Medical Sciences

Expert Panel with Hastings Center's Nancy Berlinger on How to Protect the Vulnerable in the Time of COVID  

Bryan Pilkington 320 picDuring this time of COVID, each week Professor Bryan Pilkington holds a conversation with leading experts from medicine, nursing, and the health sciences, as well as political theorists, economists, ethicists and philosophers.

This week, the topic of conversation will be "Vulnerability and Dependence in the Time of COVID," and will feature a panel of multi-disciplinary experts from around the country, including Nancy Berlinger of the Hastings Center.

Nancy Berlinger is a research scholar whose work focuses on two major themes: ethical and societal challenges arising from population aging, and the role of health practitioners, systems, and policymakers in the care and well-being of migrants. These themes reflect her longstanding interests in decision-making and care concerning serious illness and near the end of life; safety and harm in health systems; and the moral dimensions of care work. She publishes, presents, and speaks to the media frequently on topics within these themes and has been featured prominently by media during the pandemic.

"COVID-19 has disproportionately affected vulnerable members of our communities and the nature of the pandemic has left many of the societal mechanisms intended to aid the vulnerable less effective," said Pilkington. "This panel, with experts from across the country who are working to ensure that the vulnerable are protected, will allow us to focus on not only the problem, but on solutions, as we discuss what has worked, what hasn’t and what ethical care for the vulnerable should look like."

Pilkington, an associate professor in the School of Health and Medical Sciences at Seton Hall University and the Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University, serves on the Editorial Board of the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy and the Editorial Advisory Boards of HealthCare Ethics Committee Forum and Christian Bioethics.

"I am thrilled that Dr. Pilkington has applied his expertise in bioethics to develop and lead this timely series of webinars on topics relating to the COVID-19 pandemic," said Dean Brian Shulman of the School of Health and Medical Sciences. "This series is another example of how interprofessional collaboration across many disciplines can make a difference in the lives of those impacted by this unprecedented pandemic."

In addition to Nancy Berlinger the panel will include:

  1. Ana Campoverde, M.P.A, Interim Executive Director, Joseph A. Unanue Latino Institute at Seton Hall University;
  2. Tade Ayeni, Ed.D., Director of the Office of Diversity and Equity, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine at Seton Hall University;
  3. Emma Wonsil, M.A., Behavioral Health Clinician, Catholic Community Services of Western Washington.

The panel will take place on Wednesday, May 13, 2020, at 12:30 p.m.
Call in/video info: Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 943 2238 7654
Password: 20192023

Formed with the belief that we arrive at the best answers to challenging ethical questions by practically reasoning together, "Vulnerability and Dependence in the Time of COVID," is the seventh installment of this panel program.

Previous panels have covered:

  • Ethics and Questions of Risk in Healthcare: An Interprofessional Discussion
  • Today and Tomorrow: Prioritizing the Present in the Time of COVID Sports and Recreation in the Time of COVID
  • Intentions and the Limits of Aid: Best Practices in the Fight against COVID
  • Pregnancy and Covid-19: Keeping Mothers Babies Well
  • Lattes and Letters – a student advocacy session

Categories: Health and Medicine

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