Continuing Education for Social Work

Understanding Medical Aid in Dying: Clinical, Policy, and Caregiver Perspectives

FRIDAY, July 17, 2026
10:00 am – 12 pm (eastern time)
Live Webinar on Zoom
(You will need to register to receive login information)

Registration: 2 CEU Credit Hours
General:  Through July 7, $50; July 8 – July 16, $60
Wurzweiler Alumni and Current WSSW Practicum Instructors: Through July 7, $40; July 8 – July 16, $50
All Current Students: $15

Registration closes on 7/16/26 at 5:00 Eastern Time (EST)

Medical Aid in Dying, now legal in 14 jurisdictions including NY and NJ, provides an option for patients near the end of life. This program provides an understanding of the law and practice, from the perspectives of clinicians, policymakers, and caregivers. 

Susan Hedlund will review the history of medical aid in dying and state initiatives since its inception in Oregon in 1998. She will present approaches to clinical assessments and interventions for people seeking to explore this alternative at the end of life. 

Mandi Zucker will share policy and advocacy activities that led to the recent passage of New York State’s law, and share activities of her organization, including professional and public education, referrals, and coordination of services, to help people access this option. 

Carol Abolafia, a caregiver, will examine what it means to support someone you love when their end-of-life choices are not the choices you would make yourself. She will discuss caregiving, dignity, family support, and one family’s experience, offering a deeper understanding of autonomy, grief, and compassionate care.

Learning Objectives

As a result of participation, attendees will:

1. Review the historical perspectives on Medical Aid in Dying in the US.
2. Understand clinical assessment and interventions to assist clients exploring medical aid in dying.
3. Examine policy guidelines, including eligibility requirements and steps needed to qualify to use the law.
4. Understand the impact of aid in dying from a family caregiving perspective.
    

Susan Hedlund, LCSW, has been a social worker in the health care field for 30 years and has extensive experience working with clients facing life threatening illness and loss. She is currently the Director of Supportive Care Initiatives at the Biller Family Foundation in Seattle. She was previously the Director of Patient and Family Services at the Knight Cancer Institute at Oregon Health & Sciences University. 

Susan is an associate professor at the School of Medicine at OHSU, as well as the Graduate School of Social Work at Portland State University and teaches in the palliative care certificate program at the University of Washington. She is a past president of the National Association of Oncology Social Work, and received their Leadership Award in 1999, among other numerous awards. Susan was a member of the Task Force for Terminally Ill Oregonians, which wrote the guidelines for Oregon’s Death with Dignity law in 1997.

Carol Abolafia is an advocate, caregiver, and speaker who has become a respected voice in conversations about Medical Aid in Dying through her personal experience supporting her mother, Barbara Goodfriend, during her journey with ALS. After accompanying her mother through the deeply emotional and complex decision to choose Medical Aid in Dying in November 2024, Carol has dedicated herself to helping others better understand the realities faced by patients and families at the end of life. 

She has shared her story through national media appearances, podcasts, public speaking engagements, and consulting work with documentary filmmakers, offering a compassionate and deeply personal perspective on autonomy, dignity, caregiving, and grief.

Mandi Zucker, LSW, CT is Executive Director of End of Life Choices New York. Her 25-year career has been defined by work in end of life and grief support. She has worked in hospitals, nonprofit settings, higher education, for profit companies and schools, specializing in volunteer management, program development, education and training. Mandi became involved with EOLCNY in 2008 as a volunteer and has been an advocate for patients ever since. 

Mandi has spoken nationally about grief, difficult conversations, and how to be an advocate for your own needs at the end of life. She also has a private practice focusing on end of life and bereavement. Mandi earned her MSW from New York University.
 

Podcast

Rabbis, chaplains, and social workers are often called on to provide spiritual care near life’s end. Whether in response to serious illness, advanced cognitive or physical decline in old age, or unexpected, tragic violence, health care professionals and clergy need to respond compassionately and effectively with families facing spiritual, emotional, and existential crises. Clips from Wurzweiler School of Social Work’s “Spirituality Near the End of Life” Conference in July 2019 include leading clergy, chaplains, and social workers offering their knowledge, skills, and wisdom to assist professionals seeking to better integrate spiritual care into their professional and community work.

Episode 1

Episode 2