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Q&A COLUMN - by Judith Lee Hello. Welcome to the "Q&A" column. As a way of introduction, this column topic will deal with the need to have information on death and dying issues. Historically the United States has had a kind of schizophrenic attitude towards death and dying. We are fascinated with it, yet we want to keep it at a distance. Before World War II more people died at home, therefore death was seen by the living. People had experience in dealing with the death of someone. While this was true for adults children have always been shielded from the "horrors of death". Today many adults have never seen a dead person, much less had to be responsible for a deceased person. Yet, with 6,000 deaths a day people need to know what to do. This column will try to give you answers to your questions on what to do. In the United States people generally don’t want to discuss their own impending death so no plans are made for the future. It is usually after a death, the people responsible for the deceased need to get information and make decisions, often while under great mental stress. This column will become a resource for you. You may use it as a resource in making plans for what you want done after your own death, or as a resource because you are responsible for a deceased person. And if you know of someone who is going to be responsible for a deceased person they may be grateful if you were able to pass this information to them. This column will give you information in an easy-to-read style, laced with humor and human interest stories, so this topic of death and dying won’t be quite so hard for you to accept. We look forward to giving you some of the answers to this most touchy of topics, death and dying. Helpful Hints... Get a Medical Directive if you don’t already have one. Each state has their own version. They are free. Tell folks what kind of funeral you want. Much stress and worry can be eliminated by telling people what you want. They are not mind-readers. Funerals can run up to $10,000-$15,000 each, so know what you are doing. This is a major expense! |
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Choices: Sounds of Silence On Matters of Hospice - by Eric Nagourney New York Times; Health Section, February 13, 2001 Despite recent growth of the hospice field, intended to help the terminally ill die as peacefully as possible, most Americans still die in hospitals. Other studies had found that doctors often failed to tell patients' families about their options; now, a new report suggests that nurses, too, may play a role. In the current issue of The Journal of Professional Nursing, researchers reported that more than half the nurses studied in a hospital setting said they never discussed hospice care with their patients. And while most reported using some of techniques employed in hospices to relieve pain and anxiety, many said they lacked important knowledge about hospice and palliative care. The study, conducted by researchers from Yale, the John D. Thompson Hospice Institute of Branford, Conn., and the V.A. Connecticut Healthcare System, involved 180 nurses in six hospitals in Connecticut. The results, they said, suggest that nursing programs need to do a better job of educating their students about hospice care. Dr. Elizabeth Bradley, the study's principal investigator and an assistant professor of epidemiology and public health at Yale, said that part of the problem might come down to tradition. "There is an age- old history of the role of the nurse and the role of the physician," Dr. Bradley said. "The fact is, breaking bad news is probably something, generally, people have thought of as the physician's role." |