New York, NY - Two major national magazines recently featured stories about end-of-life care issues. The June 14 issue of Newsweek included, "When Someone Is Alive, But Not Living," by Don Udall, cousin of politician Mo Udall, who spent the final six years of his life in a near-vegetative state caused by Parkinson’s and a head injury. Because Udall had no healthcare advance directive and had appointed no healthcare power of attorney, doctors and families had to guess at what the congressman might have wanted. To honor Udall, his cousin has created a foundation called CARED (Concerned Americans for a Responsible Exit With Dignity), which will encourage lawmakers to create a national repository for advance directives.
The July issue of Ladies Home Journal featured a special report on the Hugh Finn case. Finn was severely brain damaged and had little chance of recovery. When his wife, Michele, decided to remove her husband’s feeding tube, the state of Virginia, as well as other members of the Finn family, took the matter to the State Supreme Court. The story, "Let My Husband Die," chronicles Michele Finn’s struggle to remove the feeding tube. Finn’s sister, Karen, described the turmoil this decision created among everyone involved, and told LHJ, "We’re all good people and we all loved Hugh. Unfortunately, that’s put us at odds." Michele Finn told the reporter that she has no doubts that she made the right decision. "Absolutely none," she said.
New Orleans, LA - In a keynote speech to the annual meeting of the American College of Physicians-American Society of Internal Medicine, Donald M. Berwick, M.D., director of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, highlighted twenty steps internists can take to improve end-of-life care for their own patients. The list, which ABCD helped to compile, includes straightforward suggestions for how to talk to patients about their hopes and fears, how to discuss advance care planning, ways to improve continuity of care, and other important concerns. For an insightful article, read, "Helping Patients Find Their Way to ‘A Good Death,’" on the ACP-ASIM website, www.acp-asim.org For the complete list of steps, visit ABCD’s website - download the factsheet and leave a copy with your doctor at your next office visit.
<<< Previous Next >>> [ Go Up ]