Hospice, Living Wills, Futile Care: Hospice, Hospitals & Nursing Homes Have License To Kill

If you think the story I'm about to tell you sounds sensational, it is. If you think the information provided in this column sounds unbelievable, unfortunately, it is not. The fact of the matter is: America's health care system has gone far beyond the madness demonstrated by Dr. Jack Kevorkian who was convicted of murder in 1999. "Dr. Death" Kevorkian received a sentence of 10 to 25 years for the role he played in a nine-year crusade which led to the deaths of over 130 human beings.

Many hospitals and nursing homes are now the new "killing fields" in America, especially when it comes to the care of senior citizens. The truth is, the older a patient is, the more likely death will be the outcome as a result of an agenda which places little, if any, value on life.

Earlier this year, during the debate over health care reform, former Alaskan governor, Sarah Palin, addressed the issue of death panels which would be a part of the health care reform package passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama. But, in a way, Palin was far behind the curve, as were most Americans, including myself, when it comes to end of life issues.

"Most people believe a death panel is a panel, but it's not," said Dr. Tonimarie Vincent of North Carolina, an associate member of the Catholic Medical Association. "A death panel is one doctor. The American public does not understand this. You can go into an emergency room for an acute condition and if you have a chronic diagnosis that already exists, that doctor will look at you and, if you're elderly or you don't have the right insurance, they'll say: 'Well, it's just not worth treating the patient.' So, that's the death panel. Therefore, they're executing the futility protocol and they're saying: 'This is a futile case, the patient is going to die any way, they have a chronic condition, forget the acute condition that brought them in here, let's just not treat them.' So, whether the health care provider practices slow medicine, exit treatment or whatever, they just don't provide the patient with the care they need."

Dr. Vincent is part of a growing number of activists in the legal and medical professions who are exposing and documenting what has become entrenched in our nation's health care system.

I believe what Dr. Vincent is talking about here is part of the "culture of death" which now permeates our society. But there are some fine people and organizations who are shining a bright and cleansing light on end-of-life issues. One such organization is called LifeTree whose Executive Director is Elizabeth Wickham of North Carolina. Also, Bill Beckman, Executive Director of the Illinois Right to Life Committee has written extensively on issues which include the dangers of living wills, hospice care and futile care. I suggest those of you who have parents, grandparents, siblings or loved ones who are reaching their golden years look at the information provided at both of these web sites.

To make matters worse, recently, the implementation of hospice care--which was originally meant to ease the pain of terminally ill patients--has now become an instrument designed to hasten death in America. I believe God has been speaking to me and not with quiet whispers in the midst of spiritual contemplation. Of late, His voice has been loud and clear regarding some of the end of life issues addressed in this column.

I believe in Providence. As I was writing this column, I received a phone call from a friend. I am totally blind and my wife, Julie, who edits my work, was looking through some of the e-mails that we received that day while I was on the phone. Something amazing happened. I received a touching and poignant e-mail from Christina Bowen, a woman whose Mother had just passed. To say this message came to my attention by coincidence would be foolish on my part. Christina Bowen sent me a comment in regards to one in a series of columns written by Bill Beckman on end of life issues which were posted on my website/blog (RFFM.org) in August of 2008. The series also included a commentary written by Stephen Bloom, a Christian lawyer and author of many books, including "The Believer's Guide to Legal Issues". His website is http://www.IsThereALawyerInTheChurch.com.

"I honestly believe with all my heart that if Hospice had not been in charge of my mother's care, that she would still be alive today. My mom was 70 years old and had cancer. We are well aware that this is a terminal disease, yet she was no where near the end of her life.

"My mom had bone cancer in both of her upper legs. She was in a wheel chair so it was hard for her to travel. She was also on bottled oxygen. After several months of consideration she decided not to take any more chemotherapy or radiation. The only thing she needed was something to control her pain, because the cancer was not going to go away. On September the first, I took her to see her oncologist for the last time. They decided together that Hospice could provide her with the care she needed from here on out. On that day my mom was of sound mind and doing well. We left the doctor's office and went out to dinner together.

"The next day the Hospice nurses came to the house for an evaluation. They took control over all of mom's medications and instructed us not to call 911 in case of an emergency. Everything from here on out was to be determined by the Hospice physician. They immediately increased her fentynol patch from 50mcg to 100mcg. They increased her oral pain medicine from 30mg of oxycodone to 100-120mg oxycodone per day.

"The changes started immediately. At first she seemed to be 'high'. She was sleepier than normal, kind of nodding out all the time. Started being confused, loss of appetite, and had trouble swallowing. We called the Hospice nurses and reported the side effects. My sister and I were convinced that she was receiving too much pain medicine and that she might even overdose from it. They insisted that it was just a part of the final stages of life. Even though no one ever came to the house to check her out.

"As time went by the side effects worsened. She started having trouble breathing, sweating, and even hallucinations. She finally went into a coma. We were on the phone with Hospice constantly trying to seek help for our mom. We knew that she was being overdosed, but again was told that it was a normal part of the death cycle.

"On Sept. the 8th Hospice finally showed up at the house. Mom was in a coma and unable to take her medicines. They insisted that she was just in her final stages of life and the morphine had nothing to do with what we were seeing. They said she must continue to take her morphine, so they went to the pharmacy and ordered a liquid form to be administered. She died later that evening.

"I know cancer kills people. I know that my mom was going to eventually lose her battle and die, too. But I also know that she was not there yet. She was just in pain, she wasn't dying. So in a time span of 5-6 days, our mom went from being an independent, strong willed woman, to a child like infant, and then finally just gone.

"I blame myself for allowing this to happen. Looking back I know I could have done something to have prevented this. I should have followed my instincts and removed the patch, stopped the oral drugs, and took her to the hospital against their instructions. But I didn't. I let them kill my mom.

"So, for anyone reading this, I beg you to please, please, think long and hard about signing a loved one up for Hospice. And make sure that you are ready to say goodbye when you do." -- Christina Bowen

To say I was stunned after my wife read me these words would be an understatement of the greatest proportion. In the past, many cultures cherished their elders. Those in their senior years were highly revered and seen as depositories of great wisdom who helped guide their respective families and communities because of their life experiences. Today in America, those approaching (and in) their later years are now seen as burdens on society and a culture which has lost its way.

I plead with Illinois Family Institute readers to heed the warnings. Perhaps you can look back and remember the passing of one of your loved ones who seemed to fade away too quickly, while they were in the "care" of those who, supposedly, were looking out for their best interests and well-being. I have looked back and I now believe my Mother was also a victim of what Christina Bowen wrote about above.

It must be noted that not all hospice care providers are bad. Also, there are ways to protect yourself and your loved ones, including downloading the Patient Self-Protection Document (from the Illinois Right to Life Committee website) which includes a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Document which may one day save your life or the life of a loved one. But, most important, be aware of the dangers which lurk in places which once were sanctuaries meant for our well-being, but many no longer are.

If your parent or grandparent is hospitalized, ask questions of their doctors, nurses, pharmacists and anyone else involved with their health care. Ask what medications they are taking and why? Do not be intimidated. Do not let them dismiss your concerns. If they do not respond positively, go elsewhere for medical care...IMMEDIATELY. Ms. Bowen blames herself for what happened to her mother, but she is not to blame. The blame lies within a system which hastened her mother's premature death, instead of making her comfortable before her ultimate passing.

I hope this column is a service to you all. Please share this information with everyone you know. My thanks to the Illinois Family Institute for its work in defense of the defenseless and for giving hope to the hopeless. I pray you all peace.

“A death panel is one doctor. The American public does not understand this. You can go into an emergency room for an acute condition and if you have a chronic diagnosis that already exists, that doctor will look at you and, if you’re elderly or you don’t have the right insurance, they’ll say: ‘Well, it’s just not worth treating the patient.’”

I can’t believe this happened.

“My mom had bone cancer in both of her upper legs. She was in a wheel chair so it was hard for her to travel. She was also on bottled oxygen”

“So in a time span of 5-6 days, our mom went from being an independent, strong willed woman, to a child like infant, and then finally just gone.”

So how do these two statements mesh with one another?

I recently experienced a Hospice situation with a family member.

Yes, they do speed up the process however this is a side-effect of keeping the patient comfortable.

Heavy pain medications slow breathing and the dying person generally stops eating because they sleep all the time. Then, death occurs.

If you don’t want Hospice care don’t put your loved one in Hospice however be prepared for them to be in pain.

Hospice showed up at my father’s last illness. The nurse essentially told me how to overdose him so he would die quickly. I didnt understand until it was over. I hear stories like this often within my practice from grieving family members.

Never would I permit hospice to provide family care.

The toughest part for me was removing food.

He wasn’t hungry and was just trying to eat for the family to show he was strong. They would bring his tray and he would play with the food for a half hour, salting it, twirling it and perhaps taking one bite that would be painfully swallowed and vomited back up within the hour.

I finally told the staff not to bring food unless he requested it. He never did, because he wasn’t hungry.

"If they didn’t want Hospice care they should have kept her at home."

Unless I'm not understanding the story - she WAS at home with a pain patch. Hospice was 'treating' her by phone & did not come to the house to check the patient out about what the family was telling them.

All hospice patient do not go to a hospice facility. Many are treated by their family at home - under hospice supervision. If you read the article - they were told NOT to call 911 - but to call them instead.

Do you not understand Hospice care?

Hospice = DNR

No need to call 911 until the person is dead and that is just to report the death.

Even if they are caring for you at home.

That’s how it works.

Our experience with hospice was just the opposite. My MIL was in the final stages of Parkinson’s. Her doctor suggested hospice as a means to accessing additional services that she didn’t qualify for under other plans. She lived in an assisted living facility. Hospice came in every day and helped feed her, bathe her, did massages, light physical therapy, provided spiritual comfort, and showed the staff how to best handle her in her fragile condition. They worked with us as we interacted with them and the staff. She did great, didn’t show any decline and actually was doing better with having help with eating for over five months. Then, with the inevitable end of a horrible disease, they helped with that, too. They kept her pain free and comfortable, but she was in no way overdosed. She slept a lot, but that’s normal for a Parkinson’s patient, she had been doing that for months before hospice arrived on the scene. When she was awake, she was conscious and present, even after her DNR went into effect. She passed away a few days later. Over the course of those five-six months, we spent a lot of time with the hospice team as we worked with them to care for my MIL. They were incredible.

Been there, done this as medical power of attorney for someone (not a relative) - 2 years nursing home, 4 months hospice (died in June this year). My advice, which was learned the hard way - being thrown into the lion’s den knowing nothing: knowledge is power. Educate yourself on EVERYTHING: medical conditions(s), meds, care plan, rules/regs, process of dying, what hospice is, DNRs, DNHs, what your loved one truly wants, etc. Next, take your knowledge and ask questions - if it doesn’t sound, look or feel right, it probably isn’t. Find an ombudsman (federally mandated) and get their help in educating yourself as to what you should expect & then hold the facility to it. Do NOT be intimidated - if you’ve done your homework, you won’t be. I was told that my person would have died probably two years earlier but for my intervention & care. Her last two years were as good as I could make them for her & she was a blessing in my life. There are a lot of elderly folks warehoused in nursing homes who have no one to oversee their care, make sure they are not dehumanized, and to be with them when they die. It is a true tragedy and what still eats at me is that while I kept this from happening in one person’s life, there are many others that I cannot help.

To all:

Obviously, as someone stated above, some of you are not reading the column carefully. Not all hospice providers are bad. Hospice services are provided at the home. People are dying prematurely when the original mission of hospice was to make the patient’s remaining time comfortable, not to assist in their death through the administration of debilitating drugs. One individual who commented said his loved one refused to eat, this could have been due to a side effect resulting from a massive overdose of analgesics. Some of you may be 30 years old and you don’t think this will happen to you, but the slippery slope theory always applies and one day the treatment (and killing) of seniors and other individuals who our society see as having little value will dwarf those who died in Hitler’s death camps. It’s called “more from the fit, less from the unfit.” Read about eugenics, read the philosophy of Margaret Sanger, the founder of Planned Parenthood who was a major player in the culture of death which now permeates our society. Professor Peter Singer, a professor of ethics at Princeton believes parents should have the right to kill their children up until the age of two. Thanks to the Freepers who get it.

Dan Zanoza, author

I wrote that story about my mom close to three years ago, not long after she passed away. I had no idea that this forum even existed until today. I don’t even remember where I had originally posted the story. I stumbled upon this all by accident. I do wish I had seen it earlier. I had no prior experience with hospice. I had no reason to detest them or plans to destroy them. I just wanted to tell my story so others in a similar situation would have all the facts before making a decision that important. Things I wish I had known in advance. I don’t understand where all the ridicule is coming from. To say that my mom was independent while being in a wheel chair and requiring oxygen is not a contradiction. She was just as mentally capable as you or me, she could feed and dress herself, and she didn’t require diapers. It was an aggravation to haul around those tanks when we left the house, but not debilitating. Furthermore it certainly says nothing about her strong will. Anyone who could survive all the hardships in life that this woman did and still have a love for life along with a positive attitude is most definitely strong willed. She decided that a third round of chemotherapy and radiation was going to kill her faster than the cancer itself. She had not simply given up on life. She was considering the quality of life she was to have. I am obviously no journalist and I didn’t put too much effort in dissecting every word that I wrote. I just felt like our story had purpose and needed to be told so others could possibly avoid the same tragic ending.

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