Health Oct 15 Watch 4:55 A nurse practitioner’s Brief But Spectacular take on end-of-life care for children Pediatric nurse practitioner Deborah Fisher spent her early career working in intensive care units. The experience convinced her that more needed to be done to improve end-of-life care for children. Now specializing in palliative care at Children’s National Hospital in…
Health Jun 30 Watch 3:31 A Brief But Spectacular take on compassionate care during COVID-19 Dr. Diane Meier is the director of the Center to Advance Palliative Care in New York City. As a palliative care specialist, she has an intimate view of how the coronavirus pandemic is affecting patients and their loved ones. Meier…
Health Jul 02 Does palliative sedation ease suffering during end-of-life care? While aid-in-dying, or “death with dignity,” is now legal in seven states and Washington, D.C., medically assisted suicide retains tough opposition. Palliative sedation, though, has been administered since the hospice care movement began in the 1960s and is legal everywhere. By Michael Ollove, Stateline
Health Sep 02 Doctors want to give their cancer patients every chance. But are they pushing off hard talks too long? Experts say doctors who counsel immunotherapy and hold onto hopes for remission are postponing conversations about palliative care and end-of-life wishes. By Bob Tedeschi, STAT
May 26 As elderly population swells, some doctors see benefits of palliative care in the ER By Melissa Bailey, Kaiser Health News Emergency room physicians are struggling with how to deal with elderly patients with life-limiting conditions in an environment where most clinicians default to lifesaving techniques. Continue reading
Oct 06 Watch 3:22 In facing death, this doctor sees a way to live well By PBS News Hour Dr. BJ Miller does not work to heal patients, but to ensure quality of life amid advanced or serious illness. Sometimes people suggest his job is depressing, but Miller doesn’t see it that way. When people are dying it changes… Continue watching
Aug 18 Watch 7:03 When patients live far from care, video conferencing can be a palliative support lifeline By PBS News Hour People facing life-threatening illnesses often access palliative care to ease their pain and help with difficult end-of-life choices. But for those living in remote, rural areas, getting that comforting care can be unwieldy. Special correspondent Joanne Elgart Jennings reports on… Continue watching
Oct 09 Watch We all die, so why don’t we die well? By PBS News Hour Modern medicine has a fundamental failure in its approach toward aging and dying, says Dr. Atul Gawande: “We don't recognize that people have priorities besides just living longer.” Gawande, a surgeon and the author of a new book, "Being Mortal:… Continue watching
Jul 11 Watch Doctors Seek to Improve End-of-life Care for Cancer Patients Recent studies have indicated that barely a third of patients report having substantive conversations with their oncologists about end-of-life care, a statistic some physicians are looking to change. Health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser reports. Continue watching