To Die Well, We Must Talk About Death Before the End of Life

Honoring end-of-life wishes is only possible if people have conversations about what we want

Health care providers need to ensure patients and clients have considered and clarified their end-of-life preferences. Tyler Olson/Shutterstock

I would like to tell you an all-too-familiar story. It begins with a long-term care home resident, Laura, who has multiple chronic conditions and gets an infection that doesn’t get any better.

Her health has been declining for months, but no one has talked to her about her preferences for end-of-life care. In the absence of that knowledge, she is sent to the hospital where she undergoes stressful tests.