On May 22,2016, an Op-Ed piece appeared in the LA Times, authored by an emergency department physician, Eric Snoey, MD, who expressed anguish over impediments to honoring his patients’ end-of-life wishes. Staff at the National POLST Paradigm Office, along with California POLST advocates, quickly convened over this article in penning a response, which was published soon after as a Letter to the Editor.
Of note, it was clear that we held a shared mission to honor patient end-of-life wishes, yet Dr. Snoey made no reference to POLST. Staff at the National POLST Paradigm Office and the Coalition for Compassionate Care of California realized that it was imperative that we respond with a message about POLST education. POLST is precisely the tool that would aid Dr. Snoey in his goal for patient-centric care, as it is specifically designed to help health care professionals ensure that patient end-of-life wishes are honored.
Just a reminder to all of our constituents: The National POLST Paradigm Office staff, Hanna Nelson, Amy Vandenbroucke, Charissa Yang, and Kris Austin, media consultant, are here to help you. Please contact us at any time to alert us to events or issues that arise in your communities if we may be able to help review or aid the situation in any way. We are here to support you!