One gift of being a pastor is that death stands right in front of us. We understand that our days are numbered.
end of life care
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.