End-of-life care

Sep 23

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Whose Life is it Anyway?

By Gere B. Fulton, Ph.D., J.D. | Dementia, End-of-life care | 14 Comments

Since the 1970s there have been debates about whether “patients” have the right to refuse various forms of life-saving or life-sustaining medical treatment, ranging from blood transfusions to ventilators and feeding tubes. More recently the debate has moved into the area of dementia and which, if any, kinds of treatment may be refused under the terms of a directive written in advance of loss of decision-making capacity. The issue of forced feeding is addressed by several articles in the July/August issue (48:4) of the Hastings Center Report, one of the nation’s preeminent bioethics publications.

Sep 16

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One man’s experience using Washington’s PAD law

By Lamar Hankins | ALS, End-of-life care, Medical Aid in Dying, PAD, Suffering and Death | 2 Comments

A Washington state man, Aaron McQ, described his illness (a rare form of ALS) as “terrifying . . . like waking up every morning in quicksand.” He agreed to discuss his experience with Kaiser News to help provide more understanding about how users feel after qualifying for PAD. Over 3,000 terminally ill residents in the US have used PAD laws since Oregon’s first took effect twenty years ago. This is one man’s experience.

Jul 15

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WHAT “DO EVERYTHING” REALLY MEANS

By ZDoggMD | Advance Directives, Choice, DNR, End-of-life care, Healthcare Power of Attorney, Healthcare Proxy, Surrogate | One Comment

ZDoggMD (Zubin Damania, MD) explains in his engrossing style what it really means to decide that you want to be kept alive by doing everything possible. It may be time to remodel those advance directives.

Dec 10

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End-of-Life Care: The issues we face

By Lamar Hankins | End-of-life care | 2 Comments

The American Psychological Association (APA) has prepared and published an “End-of-Life Care Fact Sheet,” making it available as an open source document. It tries to answer the question – What are older adults’ mental health needs near the end of life?

The document, prepared by Sharon Valente, RN, PhD, FAAN, in collaboration with the other members of the APA Ad Hoc Committee on End-of-Life Issues, addresses many issues of concern to FEN members and provides references for the information and opinions it offers.

While the APA does not take a position on assisted dying, such as the laws that allow a physician to provide a lethal prescription to a terminally ill patient, as can be done in Oregon, Washington, Vermont, California, Colorado, and the District of Columbia (and is permitted in Montana by court decision), it does recognize the many perspectives on the issue of hastened death or rational suicide that exist in the US population.

Sep 11

4

A toast “to life” may include the wish for a peaceful death

By Faye Girsh | Advance Directives, Death With Dignity Act, DNR, End-of-life care, Final Exit Network, Hospice | 2 Comments

Nearly everyone hopes for a peaceful death; yet such an end can be elusive. Many of us face both philosophical and practical questions as we do what we can to make our own deaths peaceful.

Some of us may have religious questions. Judaism, like many other religions, is all over the map in its thinking about ways to achieve a peaceful death.