EthicsLab Essentials Traction – Innovative Practices Honoring Patient Wishes

Health care professionals, patients and family members could all agree that patient wishes about their care are important and need to be respected. Why then, nationally, do only 30 percent of adults have an advance directive that documents those wishes? Given that statistic, how could the town of La Crosse, Wisconsin, achieve the surprising goal that 96% of people who die there have an advance directive or similar documentation…such a difference from the national average? Some wonder how to begin such a conversation while others ask what the best systems to put in place are? Yes, there are better tools, practices and systems that can help us.

Our guests in this episode include:

• Bernard “Bud” Hammes, PhD, Executive Director, Respecting Choices, A Division of C-TAC Innovations
• David Bailey, Physician ENT and Chief Medical Officer for Memorial Health in Lufkin, TX.
• Kate (O’Rourke) DeBartolo, National Field Director, Institute for Healthcare Improvement at The Conversation Project
• Suzanne Engelder, MSW, ASW, The Center for Advance Care Planning and Advocacy