My friend adjusted his hospital bed. Then he said his final words.
end of life care
One day Bill didn't show up at the church, so we went to find him.
One gift of being a pastor is that death stands right in front of us. We understand that our days are numbered.
As a review committee member, I assured foreign delegations that the Dutch model was a good one. That conclusion has become harder to support.
Most Americans say they want to discuss end-of-life treatment with their doctors. Yet few seriously ill patients ever actually do.
In the U.S., assisted suicide has mostly been a hard sell. But there are some clear steps to take to improve end-of-life care.
"If I walk into the room of a patient dying in faith, hope, and love, I feel I need to take my shoes off. It is that holy."
In 1991, 15 percent of La Crosse residents had an advance care plan. Local health-care leaders set a goal: increase this to 50 percent.
The American hospice movement is thriving. But its growth has tended to neglect African Americans.
The emphasis on patients' rights and autonomy has been a weak remedy for medicalized death.