Category Archives: life-sustaining treatment

Second Thoughts Connecticut Negotiates POLST/MOLST Legislation With Consumer Protections We Can Live With

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National Healthcare Decisions Day is April 16th.  I hadn’t really expected the Centers for Disease Control to be one of the leading resources for my intro on this topic, but they had quite a bit to say: April 16th is recognized each year as National Healthcare Decisions Day to inspire, educate, and empower the public … Continue reading Second Thoughts Connecticut Negotiates POLST/MOLST Legislation With Consumer Protections We Can Live With →

Assisted Suicide Is A Deadly Mix With Our Profit-Driven Healthcare System

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In the debate over the public policy of legalizing assisted suicide, proponents of so-called “Death With Dignity” acts often tell personal stories of a loved one’s difficult experiences while dying. When I hear that someone was screaming in pain, my first thought is “malpractice.”  My father died of bone cancer, a very painful type of … Continue reading Assisted Suicide Is A Deadly Mix With Our Profit-Driven Healthcare System →

John Kelly Quoted in NPR Thanksgiving Day Article on POLST

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As regular readers of the NDY blog know, the disability community has concerns about Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST).  (For NDY’s overall take on the subject, go here, and for NDY’s summary policy paper on POLST, go here.) For one thing, even though it says “for” life-sustaining treatment, it would be more accurate to say “on” … Continue reading John Kelly Quoted in NPR Thanksgiving Day Article on POLST →

NDY quoted in Pew Trusts’ Stateline: New End-of-Life Measure Quietly Sweeps the Nation

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This week, the Pew Charitable Trusts’ Stateline carried an article entitled “New End-of-Life Measure Quietly Sweeps the Nation.”  The measure described is Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST), sometimes also called Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST).  According to the National POLST Paradigm website, POLST originated in 1991, and 14 states had adopted it by … Continue reading NDY quoted in Pew Trusts’ Stateline: New End-of-Life Measure Quietly Sweeps the Nation →

Press Release: Not Dead Yet Urges Secretary Sebelius and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to Prohibit Organ Procurers from Pressuring Sick or Injured to Give Up on Living

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Summary:  Not Dead Yet, a national disability rights organization, is calling upon Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to adopt national standards prohibiting organ procurement staff from initiating organ donation discussions with individuals or family members before they have made a decision to withdraw life-sustaining treatment. The … Continue reading Press Release: Not Dead Yet Urges Secretary Sebelius and Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network to Prohibit Organ Procurers from Pressuring Sick or Injured to Give Up on Living →