Tag: healthcare proxy

EOLPodcast

Ep. 386 Five Wishes: Advance Care Planning for Everyone with Joanne Eason

kwyattmd

Learn more about the Five Wishes document and why it can be a good choice as an advance directive.

My guest Joanne Eason is the president of Five Wishes, the nation’s only national advance care planning program. She discusses the history of the Five Wishes organization and the benefits of using the Five Wishes form as an advance directive. We review the reasons why everyone over age 18 needs and advance directive and how Five Wishes can meet that need. Learn more at the website:

www.fivewishes.org

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • The original inspiration behind Five Wishes
  • What the Five Wishes document consists of
  • Which 46 states recognize Five Wishes as a legal document and the extra steps needed in the other 4 states
  • Why choose Five Wishes over state advance directive forms or how to use both forms together
  • The benefits of planning ahead for the end of life
  • The importance of choosing the best person as a healthcare proxy
  • Why Five Wishes asks individuals to define “what life support treatment means to me”
  • The importance of including questions about more than just wishes for medical treatment in advance care planning
  • What steps to take after completing Five Wishes
  • How the Five Wishes form acknowledges the “gray areas” of end-of-life planning

Links mentioned in this episode:

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 Kyle Tevlin and Janice Cotter! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 371 Complicated Decisions in the ICU with Travis Rieder

kwyattmd

Learn how a bioethicist found himself in a decision-making dilemma after his own father suffered a healthcare crisis and was on a ventilator in the ICU.

My guest Travis Rieder is a bioethicist and the director of the Master of Bioethics degree program at the Johns Hopkins Berman Institute of Bioethics. He is also an author and TED Talk speaker who recently penned an article titled “A Father’s Wish, A Bioethicist’s Dilemma.” He shares the dilemma he faced as a healthcare proxy for his father during a dire health crisis, which sheds light on the challenges of making the best decisions in the moment when the outcome is uncertain. Learn more about his writing at his website:

www.travisrieder.com

Watch on YouTube

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What bioethicists do and how Travis was attracted to this field
  • What is “preventable catastrophe” and how that concept informs his work
  • Bioethical challenges during the pandemic
  • The personal dilemma he faced when his father was in the ICU
  • The importance of clear communication during a health crisis
  • Why knowing your loved one’s wishes may not always lead to easy decision-making
  • How to make the best decisions even when information is limited
  • How this experience changed what Travis teaches his bioethics students

Links mentioned in this episode:

  • Volunteer Hospice of Clallam County Soul Care Speaker Series October 12th at Noon Pacific: Register here
  • DDNBC Workshop with Barbara Karnes and Karen Wyatt October 13th at 6:30 pm Pacific: Register here
  • Travis Rieder’s Article: A Father’s Wish, a Bioethicist’s Dilemma”

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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, and to Binta Sumareh for making a donation through Paypal! Your contributions make all the difference.

EOLPodcast

Ep. 283 Reshaping the Future of Advance Care Planning with Patty Burgess, Fred Mirarchi MD and Sheila Schultz

kwyattmd

Learn about video advance directives and how to get involved in this game-changing innovation for the future of advance care planning.

In this episode I host three guests – Patty Burgess, Dr. Fred Mirarchi, and Sheila Schultz – who have partnered together to create MIDEO University, the only organization to train and certify Advance Care Planning Educators (ACPE’s) in every community. They share how MIDEO’s video advance directives are revolutionizing end-of-life and emergency care in hospitals and how they are training doulas, advance care planners and other healthcare professionals to become paid educators using the MIDEO approach. Learn more at their website:

www.YourVoiceDirectives.com

Listen here:

This episode includes:

  • What MIDEO is and why Dr. Mirarchi was inspired to create a video advance directive
  • How Patty and Sheila became inspired to partner with Dr. Mirarchi to create an educational program for end-of-life doulas and other healthcare professionals
  • How MIDEO works and what differentiates it from other advance directives
  • How certification as an ACPE can benefit an end-of-life doula professionally
  • Why advance care planning should not focus solely on end-of-life scenarios
  • Why video directives are important during this time of the COVID pandemic
  • How an ACPE can benefit primary care health providers in their work with patients
  • How to participate in MIDEO University and become certified as an ACPE

Links mentioned in this episode:

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!

End of Life, EOLPodcast

Ep. 159 How to Make Difficult End-of-Life Decisions for a Loved One

kwyattmd

PodcastDecisions

 

 

purposequestionIn this episode I share my thoughts on how to approach the very difficult task of making an end-of-life decision about the treatment a loved one should receive. Many people are called upon to be decision-makers in these challenging situations and this episode serves as a guide for choosing the best option for someone we love. Download the handout below:

Guide for Difficult EOL Decisions

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

This episode is sponsored by Suzanne O’Brien and her training program for caring for others at the end of life at Doulagivers.com and by your generous donations on my page at Patreon.com/eolu! Join the team and receive special bonuses as a thank-you!

Thank you to all of my patrons and sponsors! Your support means everything to me!

FEATURE PRESENTATION:

Download the handout here:

Guide for Difficult EOL Decisions

Every day families are called upon to make nearly impossible decisions about the type of care a loved one should receive as they near the end of life. Here are some suggestions for how to navigate this challenging situation when there is no advance directive available for guidance:

  • Gather medical information from all healthcare providers involved in care
  • Ask direct questions:
    • What is the diagnosis and what complications have occurred?
    • What is the effectiveness of the recommended treatment?
    • What are the chances for recovery or improvement?
    • Are there side effects from the treatment or will it cause additional suffering?
    • What will happen if treatment is stopped?
    • What would you do if this were your loved one?
  • Get expert advice and guidance from a palliative care team if available in your hospital
  • Remember past conversations with your loved one that might give you clues as to his or her preferences for the end of life
  • Consider the statistics that most Americans prefer to die at home and most do not want aggressive treatment to prolong life in the face of an incurable condition
  • Ask your loved one for guidance by expressing your concern and your desire to make the best decision. Even though your loved one cannot verbalize, they can hear you – listen for any intuitive or “felt” guidance that might come to you about the best choice to make.
  • Be gentle with yourself and recognize that you have done your best in a challenging situation
  • Seek support from others outside your family

Tune in next week for another episode! Share this content with others who might it helpful and consider leaving a review on iTunes.

Until next time …

Face Your Fear        BE Ready         Love Your Life

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End of Life, EOLPodcast

Ep. 105 Choosing the Right Healthcare Proxy

kwyattmd

Learn how to make the best choice for an advocate for your end-of-life wishes.

PodcastProxy

In this episode I discuss the importance of choosing the right person to be your healthcare advocate. This might be the most important decision you will make regarding your end-of-life wishes, so choose wisely!

Read the companion blog to this podcast here.

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

In this episode I reference two previous interviews where the importance of the healthcare proxy and the problems with paper advance directives were discussed:

Listen to the interview with Dr. Ira Byock here.

Listen to the interview with Dr. Fred Mirarchi here.

Patreonbecome2xAs always, donations to the EOLU Podcast fund at Patreon.com/eolu are greatly appreciated! A huge THANK YOU to all current patrons–you make this podcast and the EOL University Interview Series possible. Become a patron and receive gifts and bonuses by going to Patreon.com/eolu.

Follow my trip to Italy this fall on Pinterest or Instagram! I’ll be taking a pilgrimage and writing about grief along with doing a bike trip to Puglia!

FEATURED PRESENTATION:

Tune in to this episode to learn:

  • What is a healthcare proxy
  • Why it’s important to choose the right person as your healthcare proxy
  • The responsibilities of a proxy
  • How to choose the best person for this job
  • Next steps to make it legal

Download Guidelines for a Healthcare Proxy here.

Tune in to a new episode every Monday (even when I’m in Italy!) And be sure to leave reviews for this podcast on iTunes to make sure others can find it. Click here to find the iTunes page.

Until next week remember…

Face Your Fears.                    BE Ready.                   Love Your Life.

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