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For what it's worth, at least in our health plan, during pre-admission for scheduled surgeries or other hospital stays, advance directives are always discussed and can be executed on the spot if necessary. Both my wife's and mine are on file with doctors and hospitals and have been for years.
I essentially had to "pull the plug" on my father who had no advance directives and was hospitalized. He couldn't speak because of being on a respirator but could nod or shake his head so I asked him a series of yes-and-no questions in front of the ICU nurses and had his wishes for no further treatment entered in the file. The final question: "If they don't continue with treatments do you know that you will die?" He nodded.
I ordered him to be kept clean, comfortable, pain free, fed (IV) and hydrated. He died within less than two weeks. He was a mere 71.
What is being "pushed" is reimubsement for such counseling every five years. Nothing more. The physician doesn't have to offer it. The patient doesn't have to accept it. I can tell you it would have been a darn sight easier for my DH's family if some phyician had had the moxie to bring it up to my 97 yr old FIL before he got sick for the last time.
I understand that and from my previous post, it should be clear I see nothing wrong with this part of it.
I was referring to the entire package being 'pushed'
I do agree that it shouldn't be the purview of physicians but, unfortunately, too many (like me) have caused it to be too often 'theirs' by default. .
My DH recently had a heart attack that necessitated surgery. The cardiologist asked us both what we had decided (as a couple) regarding resuscitation and wether or not we had any written directives.
As to National health care; we have medicare and private insurance we pay for yet we still have thousands of dollars in medical bills that were not covered for this situation. Medical care for many has become too expensive to afford.
It used to be that American's life expectancy was supposed to IMPROVE with all the medical advances we have now and expected to have in the future.
Guess that will be HOPEful wishing now.
Medical advances? in many 3rd world or 2nd world countries the life expectancy is much longer than the US becuase of the food they eat and how its processed, well alot of countries food isnt processed at all like the US so they are eating natural foods
I'm odd I guess. I'm conservative but believe Obama is doing the right thing about health care. I've lived in Germany for the past twenty years and have come to admire their health care system. Now that I'm 65 and facing retirement with nothing but Medicare (which everyone seems to want to kill), I'm praying that universal affordable health care will become a reality in the US.
For what it's worth, at least in our health plan, during pre-admission for scheduled surgeries or other hospital stays, advance directives are always discussed and can be executed on the spot if necessary. Both my wife's and mine are on file with doctors and hospitals and have been for years.
I essentially had to "pull the plug" on my father who had no advance directives and was hospitalized. He couldn't speak because of being on a respirator but could nod or shake his head so I asked him a series of yes-and-no questions in front of the ICU nurses and had his wishes for no further treatment entered in the file. The final question: "If they don't continue with treatments do you know that you will die?" He nodded.
I ordered him to be kept clean, comfortable, pain free, fed (IV) and hydrated. He died within less than two weeks. He was a mere 71.
I'm sorry for your loss. It's really hard to do at a time like that (not that it's easy any time). I remember one time when I was doing home health, I had to visit a patient who was in a lot of pain. Her care giver said "You'll be going home soon". I asked "Is that what you want?", and she nodded "yes".
Well people from all over the world come here when their health care system fails them, now where will they go? You are right and things are going to get very scary.
*****For all of you cheering this bill on, how many of you are advanced medical professionals? How many of you work in a hospital or have a private practice?
I have a Canadian neighbor who was sooooooo offended when about a year ago, I forwarded an e-mail accidentally to her regarding the problems with Canadian healthcare. She said she had absolutely no problem whatsoever. Could be the fact that her whole family is in the medical field??
I have a Canadian neighbor who was sooooooo offended when about a year ago, I forwarded an e-mail accidentally to her regarding the problems with Canadian healthcare. She said she had absolutely no problem whatsoever. Could be the fact that her whole family is in the medical field??
I doubt it. Most Canadians, according to polls, surveys, etc. are happy with their system, and even if unhappy, do not want to switch to a US type system.
Because I swear, with all the "newspeak" and double talk floating through the media and str8 from the mouths of our leaders, you would think we lived in Oceania. But seriously people, there is an agenda playing out before us, and we must try to look past petty differences and really see the bigger picture that is coming together before our eyes. We are on our way to being "comrades", all working under the watchful eye of a loving government. With giant pics of "Big Brother" on every corner, we will praise our leaders for providing us with euthanasia for the elderly and military service for our young. We will live in a state of constant war, our military always abroad in order to keep the majority of our trained fighting forces away from home where they will not see the extent of the corruption and destruction of our great democratic nation. But oh God, "I love Big Brother"
We are rapidly becoming the farm animals, who work and work and do with less and less. While the pigs live in the farm house and eat all the apples, we are in the barn, cold, living off of scraps. One phrase from the book comes clearly to mind. "All "animals" are created equal, but some are more equal than others" Sort of like how our representatives don't even want to include themselves in this national healthcare farce. Don't let them get away with this. It is just another move towards abject humiliation and virtual slavery.
You have reminded me so much of the movie, Soylent Green, from the early 70s. Just exactly what those people had is being proposed by the people of the far left that control the Democrat Party now. They are talking about telling old people it is time for them to go so they won't cost the system money to keep them alive. The major difference is that we will have all that clean air and they didn't have anything like that, and we won't be made into those super wafers that are then fed to people to keep them happy. Their places of euthanasia were such peaceful places where people could see scenes of beauty from all over the world with soft, peaceful music playing.
Yes that is just what is being proposed to us when we get old or infirm.
My God, it is amazing that people can't see through what is going on. Yes, the Congress is willing to pass all this crap but don't ask them to live under this kind of laws. Some really are more equal than others. The ones that bother me are the ones that wrote the bills. Those people come from the White House cabal and one of the main ones is Ezekiel Emanuel. Sound familiar. Well it should because Zeke is Rahm's brother. You know Rahm, David Axelrod and others of the old Chicago gang.
For what it's worth, at least in our health plan, during pre-admission for scheduled surgeries or other hospital stays, advance directives are always discussed and can be executed on the spot if necessary. Both my wife's and mine are on file with doctors and hospitals and have been for years.
I essentially had to "pull the plug" on my father who had no advance directives and was hospitalized. He couldn't speak because of being on a respirator but could nod or shake his head so I asked him a series of yes-and-no questions in front of the ICU nurses and had his wishes for no further treatment entered in the file. The final question: "If they don't continue with treatments do you know that you will die?" He nodded.
I ordered him to be kept clean, comfortable, pain free, fed (IV) and hydrated. He died within less than two weeks. He was a mere 71.
All of the plans and written directives in the world won't always cause the death of people. My father was in the hospital with pneumonia at age 95 and got release but one of the young candy stripers who had no knowledge about his wishes found him dead and revived him. She got her butt chewed royally but he lived another 2 years of just existing in a rest home. Unless every attendant knows the wishes you aren't really protected. Finally, one morning he called some attendants from the home into his room talked to them about 10 minutes, announced that he was going to take a short nap, laid back and died. Purely painless death so he was very lucky.
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