When COVID killed thousands of seniors three years ago, few of them showed up in emergency rooms with advance directives. Even fewer thought about the end of life or how to die. Sadly, many lives were discarded in makeshift morgues/cooling trucks behind hospitals. It’s never too early to plan for the next pandemic, retirement, and the end of life On April 16, 2023, National Healthcare Decisions Day, take a moment and choose to end life with greed, gratitude, or glory by wanting, withholding, or withdrawing healthcare In medical facilities or your own home. Then select an advance … [Read more...] about Decide Today How You’ll Die
Advance Directives
Learn to Earn End-of-Life Respect
Pele, the famous Brazilian soccer star, reportedly stopped medical treatment for colon cancer. Media outlets stated he was receiving various iterations of comfort, hospice, and palliative care which were perceived as criminal and disrespectful. His daughter denied these allegations on Instagram. How often are those with serious illness treated like criminals for wrongdoing? When medical treatment is withdrawn or withheld, it seems the person has lost the battle or chose not to fight. “Ain’t it a shame” reverberates around the airwaves and within the person, especially after … [Read more...] about Learn to Earn End-of-Life Respect
Medicare Advance Directives
Medicare Advance Directives Consider Medicare enrollment with the end in mind. In case of emergency, do seniors prefer medical care or holistic care? Might they designate a medical power of attorney or a merciful power of attorney? Do they oblige CPR/Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation or sign a DNR/Do Not Resuscitate order? The Jama Network just published Death and End-of-Life Care in Emergency Departments in the US. This retrospective cohort study concludes that “robust systems of emergency care must not only offer life-prolonging interventions but also identify patients and families for … [Read more...] about Medicare Advance Directives