End-of-life care in a PACE program: respecting the patient's wishes while supporting the caregiver.
Family caregivers play a key role at the end of life. They provide high levels of assistance and are often called on to make complex medical decisions. This is a period where there is potential for conflict, particularly when the patient lacks decision-making capacity. This case report describes how an interdisciplinary team helped an end-of-life caregiver to find closure while advocating for the patient's wishes to be carried out. The intervention of appropriate advanced care planning and frequent communication resulted in a positive outcome.
Famakinwa
Abisola B
AB
Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA 01730, USA. Abisola.Famakinwa@va.gov
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017028:Caregivers; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D033183:Interdisciplinary Communication; D009735:Nursing Homes; D057240:Patient Preference; D019727:Proxy; D012944:Social Support; D013727:Terminal Care