Grant County Hospice and the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization encourage people to plan for the end-of-life care they would want and to share their wishes with family and healthcare providers.
There are many steps individuals can take:
- Complete an advance directive, also known as Health Care Power of Attorney and a living will.
- Talk about your wishes with family, friends and health care professionals.
- The end of a life is never easy. We can take steps to make sure our wishes are honored and that our families receive support they need.
- The conversations we have with each other about end-of-life decisions are important questions each of us should answer, regardless of age.
- Talk now, before a crisis, to ensure that family conflict or uncertainty about end-of-life treatment decisions don’t make a difficult situation even more complicated.
CPR Decisions
CPR includes a series of emergency procedures used when breathing stops and/or the heart stops beating. When the heart stops, chest compressions are delivered by hand until emergency personnel or medical staff can use electrode paddles to “shock” the heart. Intravenous medications are also used to help stabilize the heart’s rhythm. If these initial attempts are successful in restarting the heart but breathing does not resume, a ventilator may be used to continue delivering oxygen.
You can choose whether or not you would want to receive CPR. While CPR can be a life-saving intervention for some, studies have shown that it is rarely effective for persons who have advanced illness. If you have questions about the use of CPR in your situation, ask your care team and physician to explain the procedures in detail and to outline the potential risks and benefits.
DNR
Many people are not familiar with the term DNR. DNR means “Do Not Resuscitate.” DNR means that when breathing stops and/or the heart stops beating, you do not wish to receive cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). If that is your preference, you, or your health care proxy, can communicate that to your care team and health care providers by signing a DNR form at any time. This form does not have to be signed by a physician.
Grant County Hospice has end-of-life resources available, including:
- Brochures and other information to help people learn about advance care planning and about hospice as an end-of-life care option
- Speakers available to talk to churches and other groups
- Staff to talk with people about end-of-life care concerns
- Grant County Hospice staff who can come to doctor’s offices to assist medical professionals in starting a conversation with a patient or family member about hospice care.