Rancho Santa Fe resident Ruth Westreich to be honored with the Lights of LightBridge Award

Rancho Santa Fe resident Ruth Westreich, president of The Westreich Foundation, will be honored with the Lights of LightBridge Award in recognition of her steadfast commitment to hospice and palliative care. She will receive the award at the Lights of LightBridge: A Celebration of Light on Friday, July 31 in Old Poway Park. The event is hosted by the Light-Bridge Hospice Community Foundation.

“It is a privilege to honor Ruth for her remarkable accomplishments,” said Jill Mendlen, chairman of the LightBridge Hospice Community Foundation. “As a true pioneer in integrative therapies and palliative care, Ruth is most deserving of this award. She has dedicated her life to making a difference in the lives of others. We are very grateful to honor Ruth, a true light to all.”

Westreich is president of The Westreich Foundation, which supports integrative, palliative, functional and natural medicine nationally and locally, as well as supporting creative and expressive arts as part of whole person healing — body, mind and spirit. Westreich also works passionately to bring the creative and expressive arts to the health care arena as healing modalities in restoring wellbeing and wholeness. She is a board member the UCLA Arts and Healing Initiative.

Her vision, in conjunction with countless others, is to be able to use forms of visual and auditory arts therapies to heal the body and mind, and add comfort to the death and dying process for patients and their families. She is an adviser to the Academic Consortium for Complementary and Alternative Healthcare and the Academy of Integrative Health and Medicine, spearheaded by Dr. Mimi Guarneri. She is a supporter of Cal State San Marcos’ Institute for Palliative Care, as well as the School of Education. She is a past board member of the Bravewell Collaborative and the Samueli Institute whose focus is moving Integrative Medicine forward.

The Lights of LightBridge, 7–8:30 p.m. in Old Poway Park, features a reception with hors d’oeuvres, integrative therapy displays, music, as well as a brief awards program. It concludes with a candle lighting ceremony conducted by davidji, author and former lead educator at The Chopra Center. The $25 fee, children free, includes the reception, program and commemorative candles for participation in the lighting ceremony in honor and in memory of others. For information, call 858-458-2992, ext. 239 or email abby@lbhcf.org.

All proceeds from the Lights of LightBridge benefit the LightBridge Hospice Community Foundation, a nonprofit that funds programs providing therapeutic nonmedical interventions for hospice patients and their loved ones. These programs include end of life wishes, pet therapy, aromatherapy, music therapy and We Honor Veterans Ceremonies.

To learn more, visit www.lbhcf.org.