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Showing posts with label death with dignity. Show all posts
Showing posts with label death with dignity. Show all posts

Portland Oregon Support Network

Aging, End-of-Life and Bereavement resources in and around the Portland Metro area.

In-Home Hospice
  • Southwest Home Care and Hospice
    100 E 33rd Street, Suite 201 Vancouver, WA 98663
    360-696-5100
  • Serenity Palliative Care and Hospice
    6975 SW Sandburg St., Ste. 190 Portland, Oregon 97223
    503-639-0600
  • Specialty Comfort Care
    503-747-3021
  • Community Home Health and Hospice
    "Keeping pets and Families together during Hospice"
    14508 NE 20th Ave #201, Vancouver, WA 98686
    360-253-4626


    • In-Home Health Care


    In-Home Medical Equipment

    • Long Term Loan Program
      104 SW Clay St, Portland, 97201
      503-233-9511
    • All in One Mobility Home Medical Equipment
      12833 NE Airport Way, Portland, OR 97230
      503-255-5005
    • Adventist Health Home Medical Equipment
      5835 NE 122nd Ave, #105, Portland, OR 97230
      503-261-6070


    Food Delivery


    Family Caregiver Daytime Respite Care

    • Lambert House
      2600 S.E. 170th Ave., Portland OR 97236
      503-760-2075
    • Marie Smith Health & Social Center
      4616 N. Albina Ave. Portland, OR
      503-335-9980


    PERS - Home Medical Alert Services

    • Columbia Medical Alarm Inc.
      Offering Philips Lifeline service to the Portland / Vancouver Areas
      503-644-4736

    Mobile Medical Services

    • American Medical Response
      503-231-6300


    Advanced Directives


    Bereavement Support and Classes

    • Portland Adventist Medical Center Grief Classes/Support Meetings
      10123 S.E. Market St. Portland, Oregon 97216
      503-251-6105
    • Providence St. Vincent Hospital Medical Ctr.
    • 10 to 11:30 a.m., first and third Tuesdays, Pastoral Care Conference Room
      7 to 8:30 p.m., second and fourth Tuesdays, Conference Room 3
      9205 S.W. Barnes Rd., Portland, Oregon 97225
      503-291-2261
    • Tuality Community Hospital
      Surviving the Loss
      335 S.E. 8th, Hillsboro, Oregon 97123
      503-681-1700
    • Health & Lifestyle Center
      1885 NW 185th Ave, Aloha, OR 97006
      503-215-6595
    • SW Washington Medical Center
      Grief and Bereavement Support Group
      P.O. Box 1600
      Vancouver, Washington 98668
    • Providence Portland Medical Center
      11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., first and third Tuesdays, Pastoral Care Conference Room
      4:30 to 6 p.m., second and fourth Tuesdays, Pastoral Care Conference Room
      4805 NE Glisan St., Portland, OR 97213
      503-215-1111
    • Providence Willamette Falls Medical Center
      1:30 to 3 p.m., second and fourth Tuesdays, Providence Willamette Falls Community Center
      1500 Division St., Oregon City, OR 97045
      503-656-1631


    Children's Grief and Bereavement Care

    • Legacy Hospice
      2275 NE McDaniel Lane McMinnville, OR 97128
      503-220-1000
    • Camp Erin - Grief Support for Kids
      6410 NE Halsey St., Suite 300 Portland, OR 97213
      503-215-2273
    • Me, Too. and Company Children's Grief Support Group
      P. O. Box 10796, Portland, OR 97296
      503-228-2104



    Physician Aid in Dying - Resources and Information

    Dying with Dignity


    Blogs



    News and Magazine Articles

    Other Refences


     If you know of or offer other resources you feel would be helpful for folks, please let us know so we can add them to this page.  We thank you for your input.
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    Funerary and Memorial Cultural Glossary

    Some words have jumped out at us over the course of our work with funeral and memorial culture. This glossary explores the psychology of aging, death, dying, as well as funeral and memorial customs as reflected in language.

    ~A~

    • Active Dying - the process of physically dying; permanent cessation of bodily functions
    • Advance Directive
      Advance Directive - a written document that indicates what types of medical treatments a person wants and whom the doctor should talk to when a person is unable to speak for himself/herself. This document is the combination of a Living Will and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare.
    • Age-related Grief - Grief as that occurs in relation to one's age. The grief over lost youth.
    • Agnostic Funeral - funeral for a person who neither believes nor disbelieves in a deity, agnostics claim neither faith or disbelief
    • Al Kafan - (see burial shroud)
      • Arrangement Conference
    • Aqua pyre - (see hydro cremation)

    • Arrangement conference - the meeting with the funeral director in which you make plans for your loved one's funeral or memorial and the preferred method of disposition
    • Art Coffin - craft coffin used in memorial art therapy to write special messages and decorate with special artwork in tribute of the deceased

    ~B~

    Basket Casket
    • Basket Casket - a casket that is fabricated of a natural woven material, often wicker, willow, bamboo, banana leaf, and seagrass
    • Bereavement Coordinator - coordinates the grief counseling to the families of the recently deceased
    • Blended Family - generally consists of one female and one male and the children from their prior relationships; may also include children from their present relationship
    • Burial - also referred to as interment; generally refers to earth burial at a cemetery or a natural woodland burial
    • Burial Basket - (see basket casket)
    • Burial Doll - effigy created in likeness of missing person for the purpose burial rites in memorial art therapy; promotes closure for families of missing persons
    • Burial Garments - clothing selected and worn by the deceased for burial or cremation
    • Burial Pod - biodegradable papier mâché burial container
    • Burial Shroud - cloth wrapping placed around a decedant in preparation for burial (see photos of burial shrouds )
    • Burial Swaddling - cloth used to wrap infants that have died in preparation of burial
    • Burial Tree - tree planted in memory of the deceased, may or may not be placed at the gravesite

    ~C~


    • Cadaver - a dead human body used for the purposes of medical research, study, anatomical dissection and transplantation.
    • Casketry - selection of burial coffins and caskets found in a funeral home's merchandise display room 
    La Catrina
      

    • la Catrina - Originally drawn by Jose Guadalupe Posada, La Catrina is a female skeleton caricature of the rich and wealthy and sysymbolizes that no matter how much money we have, we cannot escape death. La Catrina is used in many Day of the Dead (el dia de los muertos) decorations and statues. (See Day of the Dead below)
    • Celebrant - a person who officiates a personalized and meaningful memorial or funeral ceremony
      Celebrant
    • Cemetery Arts - monuments or art installations present at cemeteries for the purpose of memorialization
    • Chevrah Kadisha - In the Jewish faith, a group of men or women from the synagogue who are assigned to care for the dead
    • Columbarium - an standing structure with spaces (niches) where cremated remains are secured
    • Committal service - a brief graveside service held before the casket or urn is placed into the ground or columbarium
    • Contemporaneity - existing or occurring in the same period of time
    • Corpse - a dead human body
    • Corpse Dog - (also incorrectly referred to as Cadaver Dog) dogs used for locating the dead in disasters
    • Coroner - an official in a community responsible for researching unexplicable, violent and or sudden deaths
    • Cortege - a procession of vehicles driving from the funeral service to the place of disposition (usually the cemetery)
    • Fire-based Cremation
    • Cremation - the Greek originated method of reducing the dead body small bone fragments by fire (flame based) or present day, by treated water (alkaline hydrolysis) (see hydro cremation)
    • Crone movement - A movement that takes its name from the archetype of the older woman, as a symbol of wisdom and strength (also known as crone energy)
    • Crypt - an above ground burial site inside a mausoleum

    ~D~

    Dia de los Muertos / Day of the Dead Skeletons
    • Day of the Dead (el dia de los muertos) - a holidayy, usually celebrated on November 2nd in Mexico and other Central and South American countries when people honor and pay tribute to deceased relatives by decorating the grave and setting up an altar of food and gifts as tribute to the deceased at home. Skeleton imagery and statues are often used as part of the decorations. (Learn more about the history of the holiday by viewing our video on Day of the Dead.)
    • Death Doula - one (can be either a male or female) who aids the dying through the final dying process and often prepares the body for viewing once death has occurred.
    • Death Midwife - female version of death doula 
      Oregon has Death with Dignity Law Since 1994
    • Death with Dignity - in Oregon, a 1994 Measure established the U.S. state of Oregon's Death with Dignity Act (ORS 127.800-995[1]), which legalizes physician-assisted dying with certain restrictions. Passage of this initiative made Oregon the first U.S. state and one of the first jurisdictions in the world to permit some terminally ill patients to determine the time of their own death. (Visit the Death with Dignity national center for more info)
    • Decompiculture - refers to how decomposing organisms could be grown or cultured for a variety of uses, for instance to decompose waste; in human burial, refers to cultivating fungi for the purpose of facilitating corpse decomposition.
    • Direct cremation - immediate cremation without a funeral or memorial service
    • Direct burial - immediate burial without a funeral service
    • Disaster Mortuary - an emergency response mortuary team deployed to a mass fatality disaster for the purpose of preserving the dead for identification (visit DMORT - Disaster Mortuary Operational Response Team)
    • Disaster Veterinary - an emergency response veterinary team deployed to disasters for the purpose of collecting, treating and caring for displaced animals (Visit the AVMA Disaster Veterinary page)
    • Doll Urn - anthropomorphic doll used to hold cremated remains, often in the form of a soft stuffed animal or bear
    • DNR - Stands for Do Not Resuscitate. It is a request to not have cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) if your heart stops and/or if you stop breathing

    ~E~

    Embalming Fluid
    • Embalming - (see hygienic treatment)
    • Entombment - placement of a casket in an above-ground structure (mausoleum)
    • Enzyme Hydrolysis - (see hydro cremation)
    • Ethical Will - a document written by the dying to pass along ethical values, life lessons and wishes for the surviving loved ones; a practice that originated with the Lakota Sioux and the Hebrews (read more on ethical wills )

     

    ~F~

    • Family-Led Funeral - (see home funeral)
      Family Led Funeral
    • Fantasy Coffin - Decorative coffins made in bright colors and bold shapes that are themed in celebration of the way the deceased lived; an idea that originated in Ghana
    • Final Disposition - the performance of final services pertaining to the dead (Next of Kin decides this for each person)
    • Fluctuating capacity - when the patient sometimes has the mental ability to make his or her own decisions and sometimes does not have the ability
    • Funeral - a ceremony honoring the life of a person who has died where the body is present for the service (not to be confused with memorial which takes place without the body present)
    • Funeral Fundraiser - a fundraising effort used to aid a family in the funeral expenses of a loved one, often in the cases of unexpected deaths
    • Funeralogy - the study of funeral rituals, ceremonies, culture and customs

    ~G~

    Ghost Bike
    • G-Burial - abbreviated version of green burial
    • Gerontophobia - the fear of growing old, or a hatred or fear of the elderly.
    • Green Burial - natural earth burial without the use of chemicals, graveliners or crypts, usually in biodegradable containers (read more on green burial)
    • Ghost Bicycle - a bike painted entirely white (including tires), that is affixed where a fatal bike accident occurred (usually in an urban setting or on a roadside), in memoriam of one who has died; the practice of which originated from the United Kingdom (see a ghost bike )
    • Grave liner - concrete slabs used instead of a vault, to support the earth load inside of a grave (not used in green burial) (see how a vault supports the earth load)
    • Grief Facilitator - (see bereavement coordinator)
    • Guardian
    • Guardian - A court-appointed person who is assigned to make decisions for an incapacitated person. This person may also be called a conservator. This person is often in charge of medical decisions and or financial decisions.

    ~H~

    • HIPPA - Health Information Portability and Accountability Act; A law that protects medical information and gives individuals the right to decide who will and will not have access to his/her own personal health information (see more info on the HIPPA act )
    • Holistic End-of-Life Care - focused on continuity of care from aging well, dying, death, funeralization and after care
    • Holographic Will - a will that is written entirely by hand of the person the will belongs to
    • Home-Funeral - a funeral that is held in the home of the decedant; it may be with or
      Home Funeral
      without the assistance of a funeral director, but can alleviate the need to move the deceased to a funeral home (read about home funerals) (also known as family-led funeral)
    • Honorarium - the charitable fee typically paid to a clergy person or celebrant for officiating the funeral or memorial ceremony, or for the musicians or soloists for their performances in the ceremony
    • Humanist - Humanism is a broad category of ethical philosophies that affirm the dignity and worth of all people, based on the ability to determine right and wrong by appealing to universal human qualities, particularly rationality, without resorting to the supernatural or alleged divine authority from religious texts.
    Hydro Cremation

    • Hydro Cremation -the environmentally friendly version of cremation that reduces human remains to small bone fragments through the process of hydrolysis, using water, heat, agitation and an alkali solution (also known as bio-cremation and resomation) (read more about hydro cremation)
    • Hygienic Treatment - the intravascular cleansing of the circulatory system of the dead human body for the purposes of slowing putrefaction and for disease control during extended viewing or travels (also known as embalming)

    ~I~

    • Iatrogenic illness - induced inadvertently by a physician or surgeon or by medical treatment or diagnostic procedures & iatrogenic rash
    • Identity-stripping - All persons flying on commercial airlines would be identity-stripped by a database that would include their names, phone numbers, addresses, dates of birth, their traveling companions and itineraries, how tickets were paid, rental car information and destinations, names and addresses of businesses the passenger has used, all information about their current and past car ownership and even newspaper subscriptions. Gullette's use is different. Gullette's idea is a more personal loss/sense of identity, whereas the above definition refers to an exposure of one's personal information.

    ~J~

    • Jinazah - a funeral or funeral prayer for Muslims (in Islam)

    ~K~

    Kin

     

    • Kin - one's relatives, referring to blood relationship. (Next of kin has right of final disposition for one who has died.)

     

     

    ~L~

    • Life cycle - The biological cycles of life from conception to death.
    • Life Story Review - the review and collection of one's biographical history and important life events, often in a hospice setting, but sometimes collected during pre-need funeral arrangements (how to collect a life review)
    • Living Will - a written document that indicates what types of medical treatments are desired. This can be specific or general. It can also be called an Advance Directive.
    • Living Funeral - a pre-death celebration of life to honor one who is nearing the end of life; the tone is often celebratory, but can be serious in nature as well (read more about living funerals and activities )

    ~M~

    Memorial Art Therapy
    • Mausoleum - a small building in a cemetery that where a body is interred above ground
    • Memorial - a service or ceremony honoring the life of a person who has died, the body is not present for this service. Cremated remains (ashes) may or may not be present. (Not to be confused with funeral)
    • Memorial Adventure - the process of scattering a loved one's ashes on pilgrimage to location(s) of special significance (read more about scattering ash stories and travels)
    • Memorial Art Therapy - the therapeutic use of art to address and heal grief; artwork made in memory of one who has died; can include works that incorporate a loved ones cremated ashes, artifacts or hair (cremation jewelry with ashes incorporate into the art piece)
    • Memorial Ecosystem - the biological community of interacting organisms within the cemetery environment
    • Memorial Fundraiser - (see funeral fundraiser)
    • Memorial Telecast - the transmission of funeral/memorial services over the internet or television
    • Memorialogy - the study of memorialization and remembrances
    • Mortuary Arts - the science and study of preserving human remains for the purpose of viewing
    • Mourning Wear - clothing that communicates one is grieving, historically this was worn for a designated period of time after a death (see photos of historic mourning clothing)

    ~N~

    • Niche - a space in a cemetery columbarium that holds cremated remains (ashes) permanently for visitation

    ~O~

    Obituary
    • Obituary - a notice placed in a newspaper that announces the death to the community, covers a briefly write up on the person's life and may or may not invites readers to attend a funeral or memorial
    • Ontological - the branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being.
    • Out Funeral - a funeral that celebrates the lifestyle preference of the individual in addition to honoring the deceased

    ~P~

    Private Property Burial
    • Pallbearers - the people who carry the casket from the funeral ceremony to the hearse and from the hearse to the gravesite
    • POLST - Physicians Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments, which is a doctor's order form that documents the patient's wishes, not only about CPR but for other end-of-life choices. (Visit Official POLST website for Oregon)
    • Private Property Burial - burial on one's home property, the legality of which is usually determined by local ordinances (view more info on private property burial)

    ~Q~

    • Quasi -Property Theory - the legal theory pertaining to the dead human body whereby rights to the body are only associated with disposition purposes only; no other property rights to the body exist.

    ~R~

    Rental Coffin / Rental Casket
    • Rental Coffin - a coffin that is used purely for the funeral service and not utilized for final burial or cremation. It is designed to accommodate a fitted liner which the body is laid within, the liner is then placed inside the rental coffin and removed immediately after services, usually used in cases of cremation
    • Restorative Art - a term that refers to repair of the dead body to make it presentable for final viewing

    ~S~

    Sindone or Tachrichim aka Burial Shroud
    • Second Burial - when a body is exhumed after some time, then cremated and placed in a family columbarium (usually occurs in traditional Asian cultures)
    • Secular Funeral - a funeral service focused on celebrating the individual's life and accomplishments; not religious or spiritual in nature
    • Sindone - (see burial shroud)
    • Somatic Death - activation-induced cellular death, cessation of life

    ~T~

    • Tachrichim - a Jewish burial shroud that is typically handsewn and made of white linen
    • Thanatology - the study of death

    ~U~

    Cremation Urn

    ~V~

    Vault around casket
    • Vault - a concrete or metal container into which the casket is placed in a traditional cemetery burial (green burial grounds require that vaults not be used) (learn how a vault is used to support the earth load)
    • Village Memorial - When family, friends and neighbors (community) comes together to celebrate a life, and or participate in end of life care.
    • Visitation - a scheduled time for family and friends to view the person who died (also referred to as a viewing)

    ~W~

    Water Cremation

    ~X~


    ~Y~

    • Yahrzeit - anniversary of the death (in the Jewish faith)
    • Yizkor - a memorial service that is recited 4 times a year (in the Jewish faith)

    ~Z~

    • Zenetery - a cemetery that is styled in the tradition of the Japanese Zen Garden
    • Ziegler Case - a metal container that is gasket-sealed and used for shipping human remains either inside of a casket, or on its own 

    Are there any words or meanings you found especially interesting? Are there subjects or terminology that you feel should be included here? Please share.
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    Freedom in Dying


    Last week, New Jersey cleared a Death with Dignity bill, Assembly Bill 3228, to reach their full assembly for a vote. Sadly, most of the nation still does not have Death with Dignity laws to protect patient choices. For example, in California where my grandfather died last year, there is no law protecting Death with Dignity. My grandfather had been ready to die and said as much. Following the death of my grandmother, he lost the will to live. He was unable to swallow foods or drinks anymore, and would have died had my mother not consented to a gastric feeding tube. He was losing consciousness, said goodbye to us, and he would have died in sedated delirium, but a feeding tube was inserted which re-nourished, and brought him back to suffer for an additional 2 weeks. My mother's belief system forced her to make the decision to keep him going, and he suffered until his death as a consequence. Some years ago my grandfather-in-law was determined enough to pull out his life-sustaining IVs, oxygen and feeding tubes in three separate incidents, only to have hospital staff reconnect him each time. His wishes were to die at home and not to be kept alive by machines.
    The Oregon “Death with Dignity” law while progressive, could do more to protect patient choice for comfort in dying. First, the patient must be deemed “capable” of making the decision to use the Death with Dignity Act. Secondly, the physician may refer the patient for psychiatric or psychological counseling if the physician believes the patient has a psychological disorder or depression. When this occurs, “No medication to end a patient's life in a humane and dignified manner shall be prescribed until the person performing the counseling determines that the patient is not suffering from a psychiatric or psychological disorder or depression causing impaired judgment [1995 c.3 s.3.03; 1999 c.423 s.4]”. Additionally, there are also waiting periods between the patient’s initial oral request and the writing of the prescription. The patient must ask for the prescription orally, then submit a written request, and then reiterate an oral request to his/her attending physician at least 15 days after making the initial oral request. When one considers the fact that most patients want to live as long as they can, and enjoy what time they still have left while they’re still lucid and able to do things themselves, it’s easy to see why patients can often wait too long to use the law. With the law’s restriction on administration of the medicine being allowed only by the patient himself/herself, oftentimes the patient has become so weak that he/she cannot self-administer the medicine without assistance. At this point, because the law states that no one can administer the medicine to the patient but the patient himself/herself, the patient is no longer able to use the law. Even a doctor cannot be involved at this point. If a doctor were to administer the final medication to a patient he/she could be charged and imprisoned.
    Although advanced directives are important legal measures to document your end-of-life wishes, the truth is that health care facilities do not have to honor a patient’s wishes. According to “The Patient Self-Determination Act” there is nothing in ORS 127.646 to 127.654 that requires any health care organization, or any employee or agent of a health care organization, to act in a manner inconsistent with federal law or contrary to individual religious or philosophical beliefs. No health care organization shall be subject to criminal prosecution or civil liability for failure to comply with ORS 127.646 to 127.654. [1991 c.761 §4]. Also a lesser-known issue is that between hospitals and medical facilities, there is often an unsaid code of respect for when a family has been denied their choice in care in dying. For example if one facility declines to allow a patient their choice in dying, there is pressure towards other facilities to “follow suit” should the family wish to move their loved one elsewhere. With medical facilities keeping a united front, the patient’s wishes are denied. As Dr. Kevorkian said on Fox News (in the video below), “If a patient consults with a doctor who is opposed to what he wants, then he’s in the wrong place."
    The legal protections that health care organizations are given, also applies to physicians. Health care providers have no duty to participate in withdrawal or withholding of certain health care; duty of provider who is unwilling to participate according to ORS 127.625. (1) No health care provider shall be under any duty, whether by contract, by statute or by any other legal requirement to participate in the withdrawal or withholding of life-sustaining procedures or of artificially administered nutrition or hydration. The healthcare provider, without abandoning the patient, either discharge the patient or make a reasonable effort to locate a different health care provider and authorize the transfer of the patient to that provider [Formerly 97.070; 1993 c.767 §20]. As Dr. Jack Kevorkian said, “You have a right to refuse to participate in anything that assaults your body or your conscience." As a doctor, he saw patients suffering, and felt that his duty to help and follow his conscience was above the law. He discusses Einstein’s quote, “Conscience supercedes the law” and Hippocrates’ saying, “’You do what is best for the patient.’ and the patient knows what’s best for the patient in most cases.” Yet, even Dr. Kevorkian used more stringent safeguards than the present Death with Dignity law before assisting patients with end-of-life wishes. Instead of two patient consultations, he would conduct anywhere from 6 to 8 interviews making sure the patient was rational. Sometimes the interviews were held with family and or psychologists present.
    Fear tactics by both the media and politicians have put a negative spin on end-of-life choice. Calling “Death with Dignity” suicide or calling end-of-life consultation a “Death Panel” stigmatizes the national dialogue and intimidates family and friends of individuals who’ve opted to use the Death with Dignity law from open discussion. Additionally, hospices even have their own points of view imposed upon their patients and volunteers. When we attended hospice training, we were told that hospice’s stance was that you were not allowed to be in the room with a patient who has opted to use the “Death with Dignity” law during the time they are taking the final medication. The volunteer’s role in comfort care is to make the patient comfortable as well as provide compassion, presence and companionship. However, if one of our patients were to use the law, we were unable to support their decision by being present with them. We were actually told to either leave the patient’s home or wait outside. We believe this is intended to dissuade the patient’s confidence in using the law. Therefore, although we believe in the natural right to our choice in end-of-life, to die without suffering, there’s much work left to be done to improve and address the needs of the dying in providing the best care possible.


    What do you think the future holds for end-of-life freedom? Will we look back on this time, in decades to come, and see this as a dark period in this nation’s history (akin to the pre-Civil Rights Movement era)?



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