Dr. Caitlin E. Mohr’s father-in-law, Irving, had been on hospice for three months when she got a call from an unknown number.
As Mohr writes for KevinMD, Irv had a POLST, a physician order for life-sustaining treatment, on file with both his hospice agency and care facility that stated his desire not to be resuscitated or intubated (DNR/DNI); he wanted comfort measures only.
So when Mohr answered the phone, she was shocked to learn that paramedics were doing chest compressions in an attempt to revive her father-in-law, who had been found pulseless and unresponsive.
Ultimately, Mohr was able to patch in her husband, Irv’s healthcare proxy, to the paramedics, and he instructed them to stop the compressions. Yet Mohr was deeply disturbed by what she terms “an absolute failure of the medical system,” sharing:
I replay the scenario in my head and wonder why the paramedics were called rather than hospice? Why were compressions started? Did EMS request a POST form? Did the facility fail to procure it? Why was his body subjected to this hardship when he was at peace with his death? […] Irv made a request of his physician, with the cognitive ability to do so, and chose not to undergo resuscitation. Despite this, the health care system denied his request to die peacefully.
As a geriatrician, Mohr was heartbroken by Irv’s end-of-life experience on two fronts. In addition to the grief and trauma it caused, Mohr felt alarmed at the possibility that all her goals-of-care conversations and documentation with her patients are useless if medical professionals do not abide by their wishes.
Mohr’s story underlines the importance of Compassion & Choices’ efforts to make patient-directed care the standard in end-of-life medicine. Through initiatives such as the National Emergency and Palliative Medicine Initiative (NEPMI), Compassion & Choices is promoting increased awareness and use among emergency medicine professionals of patients’ advance directives, POLST forms and living wills.
In the meantime, what happens when the healthcare system doesn’t meet your or your loved ones’ needs and wishes?
That’s where Compassion Legal comes in. Our team at The End of Life Justice Center helps hold the healthcare system accountable when people are denied the end-of-life care they want, or forced into treatments they don’t.
Our staff attorneys work closely with pro bono counsel from renowned private law firms to ensure that your end-of-life decisions are respected and protected. With dozens of active and monitored cases, our team is defending your autonomy and fighting for justice for patients like Irv.
We’re here to protect your rights, uphold your decisions, and ensure that your voice matters — especially when it matters most.
If you or a loved one is facing barriers to getting the care you want at the end of life, we want to hear from you. Call us at 800.247.7421 or visit CandC.org/CompassionLegal.
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