Living Wills
* As part of the Patient Self-Determination Act, members of the California Assn. of Health Facilities, a nonprofit organization representing more than 1,000 licensed skilled nursing facilities throughout the state, encourage nursing home residents to make life-or-death treatment decisions themselves, before they become unable to do so (“Living Will Law Ignored, Study Says,” Dec. 1).
We believe that a resident’s own personal views and values should determine how much life-prolonging treatment he or she gets. When there is no hope of recovery, deciding whether to use life-sustaining technology is not really a clinical decision that the physician alone should make, but a philosophical one that the nursing home resident should make.
The worst time to ascertain a resident’s wishes is in the midst of a medical crisis. It is best if the resident has made it clear in advance how his or her health care decisions are to be handled.
The members of the California Assn. of Health Facilities take seriously their obligation to provide thorough information on living wills, durable power of attorney and advance medical directives to all our residents and their families.
GARY D. MACOMBER
Executive Vice President
California Assn. of Health Facilities
West Sacramento
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