Submitted by By Susan Brown
Since 2011, the mission of By Your Side has been to support people in times of change and difficulty, particularly in health crisis, and to be at their bedside at the end of their lives as needed. Nearly seven hundred people have been trained to be a compassionate presence.
We continue to develop teams of people serving in hospitals, particularly Keck Medicine at USC and Olive View/UCLA, and in long-term care settings, especially our ECS communities. In our residential communities of older adults, residents and team members become even more aware of the needs of those having difficulty with changes in their lives, with challenging diagnoses or increasing frailty. In the larger community, individuals and spiritual care teams strengthen their understanding of what being together through the end of life can really look like. We all gain tools for taking care of ourselves while being present for those around us. Please join us in this exploration. There is no obligation to volunteer.
Our next 10-hour training is on Wednesday evenings, October 14-November 11, 2026, from 6:00 pm to 8:00 pm. This cohort will meet on Zoom. A fee of $70. (which includes all materials) is due by the second class. ECS team members are complimentary; scholarships are available for public enrollees. CE (12 hrs.) for nurses is available for an added $30.00 under California Board of Registered Nursing Provider CEP 16239.
By Your Side Training Fall 2026
October 14—November 11 (Wednesdays)
6:00 PM to 8:00 PM
Trainer: Susan Brown, By Your Side Administrator
For further information about this and future trainings and to register, you may contact Susan Brown at sbrown@ecsforseniors.org or (626)403-5424