It's National Healthcare Decisions Day... And You MUST Know About POLST!

According to the UCLA Health System Ethics Center, fewer than four of every 100 people over 85 who receive CPR ever return home - partially because EMT’s, in trying to save them, (using methods not intended for the frail elderly) often apply pressure that can break an older patient's ribs, or shock them with electric paddles, or insert tubes. In fact, many seniors who survive end up with serious neurological issues.

Health Care Powers of Attorneys, Do Not Resuscitate Orders and other advance directives do not seem to translate well from the legal world to the medical world. I explain to my clients that, even if they’ve written a living will, a hospital could still refuse to honor it. It’s a Venus and Mars thing; lawyers and hospitals speak two different languages.

That’s why I’m teaming up with Dr. Karen Kennedy, Medical Director of Hospice of Broward County, on a special – free - seminar on the not so distant future of healthcare decision-making for seniors.

The event takes place on Tuesday, April 16…National Healthcare Decisions Day. And anyone in the fields of Patient Advocacy, Geriatric Care Management, Nursing, Social Work, and related professions – as well as seniors and family caregivers - should attend.

The answer may be POLST – Physician Order of Life Sustaining Treatment. This requires doctors to have a thorough conversation with their patients about end-of-life care, and to prepare a POLST form with specific notes on the patient’s wishes. That way, both parties are on the same page.

While I’ll be speaking on POLST, Dr. Kennedy will discuss the very current topic of Pain Management and palliative care for all people who need this service

Please join us for hors d’oeuvres and vital information, free of charge, on April 16 at 4 p.m., at the Nova Southeastern Lifelong Learning Institute, 3424 S. University Drive, Davie. Please call (954) 861-2681 for more information.

Many of you know that The Law Offices of Alice Reiter Feld & Associates have been practicing Elder Law for 34 years. We’ve helped thousands of South Florida families with answers to their questions. And we’ve helped them, too, with financial security…comprehensive estate planning, wills, trusts, powers of attorney, long-term care planning, asset-protection plans, and assistance with Medicaid and the VA.

This seminar will provide you with valuable information. And we look forward to seeing you there!