This is an extraordinary essay. Well worth studying. It’s common sense that we need to be reminded
of.
Excerpts:
The difference between a good death and a hard death often seemed
to hinge essentially on whether someone’s wishes were expressed and respected.
Whether they’d had a conversation about how they wanted to live toward the end.
So, a small group of us — each with his or her own story —
started the Conversation Project, a nonprofit, out of the belief that surely we
could make this easier. (also see the Conversation "starter kit." Our partners at the Institute for Healthcare
Improvement gathered experts frustrated at the pace of change who believed that
the health care system wouldn’t change until the culture changed. So we are
trying to change the culture.
There is now, finally, a real momentum for improving
end-of-life care. The signs range from the Institute of Medicine’s report,
“Dying in America,” to the success of Atul Gawande’s book “Being Mortal.”
There is also a growing public awareness of the need to
break through the reluctance that has kept us tongue-tied for so long. A survey
we did last year showed that 90 percent of Americans now think it’s important
to have the conversation. But the same survey showed something else: Only 30
percent of us have actually had these conversations. So the gap remains huge.
From all the stories shared with us, we know that what
people need most is help getting started. They need a travel guide to take the
first steps down an unfamiliar and difficult road. So we created a ConversationStarter Kit.
Dying
is not just a medical experience, it is also a deeply human experience.
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