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The Option to Die in PEACE (Patient Ethical Alternative Care Elective)
Broadening a society-wide pathway to an option for peaceful dying is a long-term proposition. We all say we want to “die in peace” but almost no one (in America, and probably elsewhere) invests any time in picking that sentiment apart and mapping it to life (and death) realities.
Beliefs are tricky business, so either I believe or surmise that several elements are required in order to achieve the goal of a peaceful demise. We must understand and be aware:
- of how we die in twenty-first century technological societies
- of medical defaults both technical and social
- of all aspects of resuscitation technology and matters from A to Z (this is a huge piece that’s rarely, in my experience, explored)
- of what constitutes heroicism and heroic activity
- of hospice: what it is, its benefits, and time horizon in order to experience its benefits
- that, by default, some amount of curative treatment must be endured before obtaining palliative care.
Throughout the winter of 2007-08 the Colorado Blue Ribbon Commission for Healthcare Reform accepted 31 reform initiatives. Mine, The Option to Die in PEACE (Patient Ethical Alternative Care Elective) was the only one focused on improving dying and death in Colorado. During the last Commission meeting Commissioners acknowledged that they hadn’t taken it up; all their time had been used dealing with general healthcare access issues.
The Option to Die in PEACE remains on the table. Part of what it suggests is beginning to occur—even if only as tendrils of smokey public discourse—due to the erroneous, but nevertheless useful, introduction of the phrase “death panels.” This in response to a healthcare reform plank that would pay providers for their time discussing end-of-life pathway options with patient-families.
Here is Bart Windrumn’s complete Option to Die in PEACE proposal. More about this topic can be found in Notes from the Waiting Room, Section 3: The Imperative to Change End of Life.
