Massachusetts has recently enacted the MOLST program - that's Medical Orders on Life-Sustaining Treatment. This is a solution to a question that a lot of clients ask: "How do I make sure my kids do what I want with end-of-life care?" Or more typically, clients say, "I want a living will." ...
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Howard Gleckman’s Caring for Our Parents
I’ve been reading Howard Gleckman’s book, Caring for Our Parents, in which he examines the long-term care system of today and the future. Essentially, if we keep on doing things as we are now (expect people to use up their savings to stay at home or in assisted living, have...
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Howard Gleckman’s New Book: Caring for Our Parents
Driving to work on Friday, I had the treat of listening to NPR's Robin Young interview Howard Gleckman on his new book, Caring for Our Parents: Inspiring Stories of Families Seeking New Solutions to America’s Most Urgent Health Crisis. I only caught the end of the interview, but it was so reassuring to hear...
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End of Life Wishes & Living Wills
Clients are always asking about living wills. Massachusetts law does not recognize a living will, and it's also impossible to write a thorough, well balanced statement of your end of life wishes in just a few paragraphs.
I provide clients with a solution to their goal, but in a much better form. I give my...
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Do You Have a Defibrillator or a Pacemaker?
If you have, or if your loved one has, an ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) or Pacemaker, you know what amazing devices these can be for saving lives. But if you are in and end of life situation and have made the decision to cease treatments and to focus instead on palliative and comfort care,...
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