David Dosa Keynote Speaker

David Dosa, MD, MPH is a geriatrician and health services researcher at Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island and the author of the New York Times Bestseller “Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat“. (2011) One of just 7,000 geriatricians in the United States, he is currently a practicing physician in Rhode Island with clinical interests in the area of dementia and the appropriate care of the elderly.

Besides his office practice, Dosa teaches medical students and residents through Brown University. He is also the physician representative to the Rhode Island Senate Long Term Care Committee and a board member of the Nursing Home Alliance for Better Long Term Care. Dosa has been interviewed on the CBS Evening News, NBC’s Today show, ABC’s Good Morning America, CNN, NPR, the BBC, and has been featured in People magazine and AARP.

Caring for America’s aging population is a large concern as baby boomers are faced not just with the care of their parents, but also with planning for their old own age. As a speaker, Dosa brings to the podium his expertise in the fields of geriatrics, dementia, end of life care, and nursing home care.

Dosa and the cat Oscar made international headlines when he published an article in the New England Journal of Medicine that revealed the cat’s unusual talent: Oscar could predict when patients were going to die. At first glance, Oscar seemed like a typical cat – a handsome but aloof black-and-white tabby with a penchant for naps in the sun. He lived among patients with advanced dementia at the Steere House Nursing Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island. A few hours before a patient died, Oscar would climb onto his or her bed. He purred and refused to leave until the patient died. His predictions were always right – he never lingered unless the person was within a few hours of death. His unusual talent provided an early warning system, giving caregivers precious time to alert family members that their loved one was near the end of life. Steere House residents and their families were grateful to Oscar for the comfort and companionship he provided.

David Dosa shares the wisdom gleaned from animals, like Oscar, and shows how pets add so much depth and companionship to our lives. Dosa discusses the story not only of this mysterious cat, but also to Steere House itself, its staff, residents, and families. In all, Oscar tended to more than fifty residents during their final hours. Dosa interviewed colleagues and family members whose loved ones died with Oscar by their side. Their stories all carry a common, uplifting element: Oscar. While Dosa portrays dementia and all of its difficulties, he provides hope and advice for caregivers who are coping with a loved one’s decline. Dosa inspires audiences to unlock the critical, but taboo, door behind end-of-life care issues.