A Dying Man’s Wish To Save Others Hits Hospital Ethics Hurdle
One terminally ill man’s hope to be disconnected from his respirator and donate his organs was almost thwarted, despite his best laid plans.
In Colorado, A Low-Price Drug Cocktail Will Tamp Down Cost Of Death With Dignity
Advocates want alternatives to drugmaker’s pricey pills for those who choose to die in Colorado and elsewhere.
Senior Citizens, Even 80-Year-Olds, Can Be Organ Donors
Organs from elderly deceased donors can work for years, says a new study that supports growing views among U.S. transplant experts.
More Prisoners Die Of Old Age Behind Bars
New data show 4,980 inmate deaths in 2014, the most since counting began in 2001.
California Tests Electronic Database For End-Of-Life Wishes
San Diego and Contra Costa counties are piloting a registry so emergency responders can know quickly how much treatment patients want.
Seniors Increasingly Getting High, Study Shows
Marijuana use is increasingly popular among older Americans, a new study shows.
Alone And Aging: Creating A Safety Net for Isolated Seniors
As numbers of vulnerable seniors without relatives rise, groups call for new efforts to navigate declines in physical and mental health.
Dementia Rates Decline Sharply Among Senior Citizens
Education and better heart health may deserve credit.
Victims Seek Payments As ‘Dr. Death’ Declares Innocence
While hundreds of his former patients submit claims for restitution, a Detroit cancer doctor convicted of making millions by purposefully poisoning them with drugs they didn’t need vows to prove his innocence.
Study: Many Caregivers Spend $7K Annually Out Of Pocket
Caregivers often pay some housing, medical, transportation and other living expenses for those they help, an AARP survey finds.
How To Spend Your Final Months At Home, Sweet Home
Older adults who hope to spend the end of their lives at home need to take key steps to make that possible.
After Colorado, ‘Right To Die’ Movement Eyes New Battlegrounds
Colorado’s approval of a ballot measure sets the stage for efforts in other states.
Seniors Suffer Amid Widespread Fraud By Medicaid Caretakers
A government watchdog report finds widespread fraud — in some cases involving patients’ severe neglect and death — in a Medicaid program that sends non-medical assistants to elderly and disabled peoples’ homes.
Colorado Wrestles With Ethics Of Aid-In-Dying As Vote Looms
Proposition 106, on Colorado’s ballot next month, would allow doctors to prescribe a lethal dose of medication to people who have less than six months to live. A recent poll shows strong support for the measure.
Terminally Ill Patients Don’t Use Aid-In-Dying Laws To Relieve Pain
Ending pain and suffering has helped several states pass “right-to-die” laws, but dying patients are more concerned about controlling how they die and dying with dignity.
Big Raises For Many Home Care Workers Won’t Necessarily Help Senior Citizens
A $15 minimum wage will almost double what many home care workers are paid but won’t solve other problems.
Young Boy’s Struggle To Survive Sparked Push For Drugs For Terminally Ill
Ten-year-old Josh Hardy died last month. His struggle to survive helped to spur laws to get unapproved drugs to the terminally ill.
Twenty dying people, at peace with their mortality, shared their views on life, love and death with a Los Angeles artist for an exhibit at the Museum of Tolerance.
Most Hospital Palliative Care Programs Are Understaffed
Guidelines recommend that hospitals have a physician, an advanced practice or registered nurse, a social worker and chaplain on the palliative care team, but only about 25 percent of hospitals meet that standard.
Patients With Dementia Present Communication Challenges In Hospice Care
Dementia complicates pain management in hospice patients because communication is difficult and the cause of pain can be hard to identify, researchers report.
