The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival took place November 1 through 4 in different locations around Albuquerque. The fourth day’s topics focused on the theme of Unexpected Deaths. Presentations provided enlightenment on the Bernalillo County Unclaimed Indigent Cremation Program, the Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI) in New Mexico, Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) in New Mexico, advance funeral planning, and an interactive session titled, “Your Clock is Ticking: Are You Ready?” Here are the videos of speakers and activities from that day.

Bernalillo County Unclaimed Indigent Cremation/Burial Program

Diane R. Chavez, Operations Manager for the Bernalillo County Indigent Program, explains how the program works. She talked about topics which included:

1. Details about Bernalillo County’s Unclaimed/Indigent Cremation Program.
2. How Unclaimed Decent cases are initiated.
3. Legal Next of Kin order of decision making precedence.
4. The timeframe the county holds on to veterans’ and citizens’ cremated remains.
5. Bernalillo County’s Unclaimed/Indigent Burial Service for veterans and county citizens.

Learn more at https://www.bernco.gov/general-services/about-the-program/.

Introducing New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI)

Lauren Dvorscak, MD, Deputy Chief of New Mexico’s Office of the Medical Investigator (OMI), and Veronica Tovar, Supervisor for Decedent Affairs, explain what the OMI does and how the public interacts with the office. At the Before I Die Festival, they talked about topics which included:

1. How the OMI investigates unexpected, unexplained or unattended deaths across New Mexico, helping to determine the cause and manner of death.
2. The public health trends that impact public safety and health policies.
3. Steps to take, such as planning and talking to family about end-of-life wishes, to help reduce stress during unexpected deaths.
4. The misunderstandings caused by expectations generated by inaccuracies in television CSI programs.
5. How OMI workers maintain a healthy balance in life and work.

Learn more at https://hsc.unm.edu/omi/.

End of Life Options New Mexico on Medical Aid in Dying (MAID)

Representatives of End of Life Options New Mexico (EOLONM) presented details about accessing Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) in the state. The presenters are Sherry Burns, Deborah Dugan and Leah Becker. In addition to talking about the services that End of Life Options New Mexico provides, they did a reenactment of three steps in the process of accessing MAID.

This included: An initial meeting with a client and an EOLONM volunteer where eligibility was determined, an initial meeting between a prescriber and the client, including an assessment of the client’s health and prognosis, a recreation of a MAID ingestion. The team also fielded questions from the audience.

Here are some helpful websites regarding MAID: https://endoflifeoptionsnm.org/ https://rightsofpassage.org/ https://compassionandchoices.org/

Advance Funeral Planning with Karla Barela Lucero of French Funerals & Cremations

Karla Barela Lucero, Advance Planning Consultant with French Funerals & Cremations, talks about about the benefits of advance funeral planning. Among the topics she covers:

1. When someone dies, there are more than 100 things that need to be done, decisions to be made and information to be gathered. Planning ahead helps reduce the stress and makes these jobs easier.
2. Information to be gathered includes vital statistics for the death certificate, accounts and beneficiaries, emergency contacts, military records, disposition preferences, and special instructions.
3. Reasons to plan ahead.
4. Financial reasons and insurance vehicles for paying ahead for funeral plans.
5. Out of area protection that ensures the return of a body should a death occur more than 75 miles from your hometown.

For more information, visit https://www.frenchfunerals.com/preplanning.

Your Clock Is Ticking: Are You Ready?

Kathy Dempsey and Kimberly Harms present an interactive workshop on unexpected death and how you can respond and prepare for it. Among the topics they explored are:

1. The importance of releasing attachments to roles, things and beliefs.
2. Elizabeth Kubler-Ross’ Five Stages of Grief compared to Kathy Dempsey’s Five Stages of Shedding.
3. Steps one can take to address being stuck, taking action and feeling fear.
4. Energy and awareness management.
5. The tasks of mourning and ways to process and manage pain, anger, anxiety, depression and despair.
6. Tips to manage depression and despair after an unexpected death.
7. A guided meditation for attendees to ponder their own death.

For more information, visit these websites: Kathy Dempsey: https://www.keepshedding.com/ Kim Harms: https://www.drkimberlyharms.com/

Thank You to Before I Die Festival Sponsors

The 2024 Before I Die New Mexico Festival featured entertaining and educational elements that get people to discuss end-of-life issues and plan ahead. Most sessions were recorded and posted on YouTube. Each day of the Festival had a theme: November 1 – Eco-Friendly Funerals.  November 2 – Hospice 101 and MAID.  November 3 – Planning for the Inevitable. November 4 – Unexpected Deaths.

The Before I Die New Mexico Festival is made possible by the support of:

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