Barbara Bush’s End-Of-Life Decision Stirs Debate Over ‘Comfort Care’
The former first lady’s announcement “not to seek additional medical treatment” and to focus on “comfort care” shone a light on end-of-life choices.
JoNel Aleccia
JoNel Aleccia was a senior correspondent for KFF Health News until October 2022.
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‘Aggressive’ New Advance Directive Would Let Dementia Patients Refuse Food
Supporters call it the strongest move yet to document a patient’s advance wishes in cases of severe dementia. Critics say it would deny basic care to society’s most vulnerable.
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Oregon Medical Students Face Tough Test: Talking About Dying
Starting this spring, aspiring doctors at the Oregon Health & Science University must prove they can communicate about difficult subjects ranging from admitting medical mistakes to notifying families about a patient’s death.
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Oregon Couple’s Final Days Captured In Intimate Aid-In-Dying Video
Dr. Charles Emerick and his wife, Francie, died together last spring after both being diagnosed with terminal illnesses. First, they let their daughter turn on the camera.
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Trump’s Perfect Score On Brain Test Spawns DIY Cognitive Exam
The makers of the Montreal Cognitive Assessment, or MoCA, say the test wasn’t meant for the masses. Now they’re working on a “mini-MoCA” that people who are worried about possible dementia can take online.
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At Some Veterans Homes, Aid-In-Dying Is Not An Option
Citing fears of losing federal funds, California is the latest state to require discharge of terminally ill residents from state veterans homes if they plan to end their lives with lethal drugs.
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No Car, No Care? Medicaid Transportation At Risk In Some States
For more than 50 years, the program for the poor and sick has been required to ferry certain clients to and from medical appointments. But a few states have sought — and received — waivers to that rule.
By JoNel Aleccia Photos by Heidi de Marco -
Fallout From ‘Nuclear Button’ Tweets: Sales Of Anti-Radiation Drug Skyrocket
Orders for potassium iodide reportedly jumped after a Jan. 2 war of words between Trump and North Korea’s Kim Jong-un.
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This Thanksgiving, Carve Out Time To Talk About End-Of-Life Wishes
A vital tradition is gaining steam as more families use the holiday gathering to discuss and document advance-care plans.
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Hospice Workers Who Care For The Dying Don’t Plan Ahead Themselves
Fewer than half of health care workers at a nonprofit Florida hospice had completed advance directives for end-of-life care.
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New ‘Instructions’ Could Let Dementia Patients Refuse Spoon-Feeding
Patients with Alzheimer’s disease and other dementias can say in advance if and when they want caregivers to stop offering food and fluids by hand.
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‘No One Is Coming’: Hospice Patients Abandoned At Death’s Door
U.S. hospice agencies promise to be available around-the-clock to help patients dying in their homes. But a Kaiser Health News investigation shows that in an alarming number of cases, that promise is broken.
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Amid For-Profit Surge, Rural Hospice Has Offered Free Care for 40 Years
Tiny Washington state hospice accepts no federal funds, relies on community volunteers and donations to serve the dying.
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Dementia Patient At Center of Spoon-Feeding Controversy Dies
Nora Harris, 64, who had early-onset Alzheimer’s disease, raised questions about the power — and limits — of an advance directive to withdraw care.
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In Oregon, End-of-Life Wishes Are Just A Click Away
A new link creates two-way access to the state registry that documents the type of medical care sick and frail patients want — or refuse.
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As Loyal Donors Age, Industry Is Out For Young Blood
Nearly 60 percent of the U.S. blood supply is provided by people older than 40 — and most of that is from folks in their 50s and 60s. Why is it so hard to find young donors?
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A Rare Dementia Gene Runs In The Family, But He’s Fine — So Far
A Washington state man inherited the mutated gene that stole his mother’s mind. He doesn’t have the disease, and doctors don’t know why.
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Despite Advance Directive, Dementia Patient Denied Last Wish, Says Spouse
Oregon court says Alzheimer’s patient Nora Harris must be spoon-fed. But her husband says she never wanted to live like this.
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End-Of-Life Advice: More Than 500,000 Chat On Medicare’s Dime
In the first year of payments for advance-care planning sessions, once decried as ”death panels,“ use is higher than expected, new data show.
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Scope Maker Olympus Hit With $6.6 Million Verdict In Superbug Outbreak Case
In the first case of its kind in the U.S., the company was ordered to pay damages to the hospital where a patient died of an infection linked to a contaminated scope. But jurors also found the hospital negligent, and it was ordered to pay the patients' family $1 million.
By Chad Terhune and JoNel Aleccia
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