end-of-life options – End of Life University

Learn how this non-profit organization is working to solve gaps in end-of-life care in their community.

My guests Elizabeth Johnson and Erin Collins are the founders and creators of the non-profit Peaceful Presence Project with a mission of helping communities live well, age well and die well by reimagining the way we talk about, plan for and experience the last stage of life. They have created Endnotes, a roadmap for end-of-life planning an will discuss the genesis of their organization and how they take a community-based approach in their work by meeting the gaps that exist in end-of-life care. Learn more at their website:

www.the peacefulpresenceproject.com

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This episode includes:

How Elizabeth and Erin were inspired to start this organization
The Compassionate Communities model of care that informs their work
The importance of integrating palliative care into daily life
How to reclaim deathcare as a social event with a medical component
Surveying the community for strengths and weaknesses around end-of-life issues to determine areas of need
Thoughts on improving the medical model to move from a curative focus to a healing focus by increasing education around palliative and end-of-life care
Reasons why our advance care planning has not been “successful” so far
High quality conversations about EOL choices are essential and they should start outside of healthcare first
Why advance care planning is important for those experiencing homelessness
The needs for increased access to palliative care in rural communities
Exploring who is too poor to die well

Links mentioned in this episode:

Register for Q&A with Becky Aud-Jennison
Compassionate Communities website
Geripal podcast on advance care planning
Compassionate Presence Workshop

Leave me a message by email: karen@karenwyattmd.com, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Your contributions make all the difference.

Hear award-winning journalist Diane Rehm discuss what she learned about Medical Aid in Dying through conversations with people both for and against these laws.

My special guest Diane Rehm was the host of The Diane Rehm Show on WAMU and NPR for nearly 40 years with a weekly on-air audience of more than 2.8 million people. She is the author of 5 best-selling autobiographical book including her latest When My Time Comes: Conversations About Whether Those Who Are Dying Should Have the Right to Determine When Life Should End. She shares her experiences traveling the country and interviewing people about medical aid in dying for the book and the documentary film by the same name. Learn more at these websites:

www.dianerehm.org

www.whenmytimecomesmovie.com

Get the book here

Read the transcript

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

Diane’s journey with her husband John at the end of his life
Why Diane was inspired to create the documentary (and later the book) When My Time Comes
How memories of Dr. Kevorkian may still create fear and negativity around this subject
Lack of joy in life is a more common reason for choosing MAID than physical pain
Why choosing MAID is different than suicide
Current facts about Medical Aid in Dying laws in the U.S.
Common arguments against these laws from religious and disability communities
Safeguards built into these laws to prevent abuse and coercion
Patients with Alzheimer’s and other dementias are not eligible for MAID
This option is not equally available to all groups of people across the country for multiple reasons
How Brittany Maynard’s story galvanized this movement
The goal is to allow choice for people at the end of life

Links mentioned in this episode:

Register for Q&A Session with William Peters on At Heaven’s Door here
Check out my YouTube Channel: https://youtube.com/c/eoluniversity
A Year of Reading Dangerously – Register here
Compassion and Choices
Watch When My Time Comes on Amazon Prime

Leave me a message by email: karen@karenwyattmd.com, Twitter, Facebook or Instagram
Support your local bookstore by buying my books on Bookshop and Indiebound: 7 Lessons for Living from the Dying and The Journey from Ego to Soul
Subscribe to this podcast on Apple, Google, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Stitcher Radio
Check out the Series I’ve recorded in the past here
Join the team at Patreon.com/eolu and get access to the EOLU mug: “Mind if we talk about death?” (only Patrons can purchase it). PLUS get our new bonuses: the monthly EOL News Update, movie reviews from 2 Doctors and a Movie, and automatic access to A Year of Reading Dangerously!

If you enjoy this content please share it with others and consider leaving a review on iTunes. Thanks again to all supporters on my page at Patreon.com/eolu, especially my newest patrons Erica Sanchez and Kelly Bean! Your contributions make all the difference.