Category Archives: From the Director’s Desk

From the Director’s Desk

Happy Holidays.

This late fall and past year have been full of concerning news over a number of police shootings. While our role at Autopsy Center is to focus on medical cause of death, we would be in remiss if we did not comment on the important events and changes taking place in our cities, including Chicago. Please take a look at my essay: Commentary: The Laquan McDonald Shooting for a perspective. Our common experience with the humanity behind communication gives us a perspective for working with families during a loss, regardless of the nature of the death. See what you think.

We have one more date before the New Year for our event, ‘The Autopsy Talks’ at Theater Wit. Join us December 30 at 7:30 pm and keep an eye out for new dates in 2016. Check out Fox News and DNAinfo coverage of the event. Scrambling for Christmas present last minute? Keep this acclaimed event in mind.

Best for a safe and happy New Year.

Sincerely,

Ben Margolis, M.D.

From the Director’s Desk

Join us this Thursday, August 13 at 10 am central time for an on-line Q & A for the public. The event will begin with a brief video of an autopsy dissection of a coronary artery (for brief clip, click here.) The complete video will be followed by a live, interactive on-line Q & A through the comment section on the Autopsy Center Facebook page.

The topic for this first event is cardiac death. If you know someone who has died from heart disease and have questions; if you have always wondered exactly cholesterol plaque looks like; or if you are just curious about heart disease, please join us. Simply log in to our Facebook page (facebook.com/autopsychicago) on Thursday, August 13 at 10 am. The active post for the event will be right there. We look forward to your participation and feedback.

We are continuing to work on our video-based high school outreach, “Live from the Morgue.” Our pilot is underway and we are delighted to share some early student feedback from high schoolers, at Barrington High. Please feel free to take a look and stay tuned for updates on this program; or contact us with inquiries if you are a high school educator.

At Autopsy Center, we attend to the complete family experience during their time of loss. I have posted an essay focusing on what’s unique about a family’s experiences when the death occurs in the hospital. While hospitalizations are such common experiences, they are profound ones. In “Loss Twice: Death in the Hospital,” I highlight how the living system of hospital relationships impacts a family’s experience after a loss.

I wish everyone a happy and enjoyable remainder of our Chicago summer, slipping too quickly away.

Sincerely,

Ben Margolis, M.D.