The American Hospital Association estimates that half of Americans suffer from chronic conditions like heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. Following a diagnosis, many experience concerns about the ...

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment forms help ensure that resident and surrogate care preferences are honored. Nursing facilities that use Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment ...

Question: I heard you speak recently and you said that “everyone over age 18 should have a will, power of attorney for finances and an Advance Health Care Directive.” I have those documents and have a ...

At first glance, a POLST is just a bright pink form — but it is soon discovered to be a lifeline for patients and their families. A physician orders for life sustaining treatment — or POLST — form ...

Oregon's groundbreaking POLST program -- a program that allows persons to communicate their end-of-life plans via a physician's written order -- has achieved a new milestone. In its first 365 days, ...

All adults should have an advance directive, and experts say that the elderly or seriously ill should also fill out a Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment form. These two forms specify your ...

Nursing home patients are more likely to die in the facility or in hospice than in a hospital in states with mature POLST programs, according to a new, first-of-its kind study. Physician Orders for ...

When Bernice Blickle’s husband collapsed on the floor six years ago, paramedics rushed to the couple’s Woodland home, ready to administer CPR and bring him back to life. That’s when Blickle handed ...

A 92-year-old woman resides in an assisted-living facility in Oregon and has extensive inoperable coronary artery disease, becoming breathless moving from her bed to the chair. Capable of decisions, ...

On the heels of my colleague James M. Berklan’s discussion about how little we know about our loved ones’ preferences for end-of-life care, there’s a sign of progress in Oregon. It comes down to a ...

Healthcare treatment. Hospital preferences. End-of-life care. Some choices are too important to leave to chance—yet they often are. A recent poll found that only 46% of older adults in the U.S. had ...