The Affairs Organizer Blog

“NPR’s Julie Rovner reports on the impact the memo could have on patients’ wishes for their end-of-life care. JULIE ROVNER: This year, marks the 20th anniversary of the year Congress first passed the law requiring that Medicare patients be told of their right to exercise so-called Advanced Directives, those express what kind of care a [...]

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“A bunch of folks interested in advance directives and palliative care are encouraging families to make the talk part of their regular holiday plans. One way to get started is a five-question guide* put together by a grassroots group called Engage with Grace.” Click here to reach Scott Hensley’s entire story on NPR. Shortlink to [...]

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Best Xmas Gift Ever! (esp. for your adult children) Nope, it’s not a pair of socks, or a shirt or that canned ham you’ve been thinking about. Instead, get your affairs in order.  That’s it. Just take an hour or two and carefully write down what you have, where it’s located and what your wishes [...]

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According to this Wall Street Journal article from Dana Mattioli: “…Sales of caskets have been declining for years as more people choose cremation. But the economic slump is compounding the industry’s woes as those who do pick caskets buy cheaper, more spartan accommodations for the hereafter. In response, casket makers are diversifying, building less expensive [...]

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Jeffrey Zaslow’s article “Love, Honor, Cherish and Scatter” in the Wall Street Journal is interesting. Excerpts: “More Americans these days are scattering loved ones’ ashes widely, with great purpose and often without permission—an act known in the funeral industry as a “wildcat scattering.” It’s a reflection of both the marked rise in cremation and the [...]

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Remember Terri Schiavo? She was the young woman who collapsed in 1990 for unknown reasons at the age of 26 and spent the next 15 years, until her death, in medical facilities being nourished through a feeding tube. Whether or not she was brain dead throughout this time has been a topic of impassioned debate [...]

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Free advance health care directive forms, (e.g. living will) for each state from the “Caring Connections” program of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Web link: http://www.caringinfo.org/stateaddownload You may also reach them via their HelpLine at 800/658-8898 or email at caringinfo@nhpco.org Bookmark on Delicious Digg this post Recommend on [...]

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