JAMDA
Volume 11, Issue 7 , Pages 528-530, September 2010

End-of-Life Care in a PACE Program: Respecting the Patient's Wishes While Supporting the Caregiver

  • Abisola B. Famakinwa, MD

      Affiliations

    • Corresponding Author InformationAddress correspondence to Abisola B. Famakinwa, MD, Geriatrics and Extended Care, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, 200 Springs Road, Bedford, MA 01730.

Staff Physician, Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans Hospital, Bedford, MA; Instructor in Medicine, Harvard University, Boston, MA; and Medical Director, Elder Service Plan of Cambridge Health Alliance from 2005–2006

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.

Keywords: Family caregivers, end-of-life care

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PII: S1525-8610(10)00091-5

doi:10.1016/j.jamda.2010.03.002

JAMDA
Volume 11, Issue 7 , Pages 528-530, September 2010

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