Ninety-six percent of all adult residents of La Crosse, Wisconsin have completed an advance directive. One local physician, concerned about the uncertainty of a patients’ wishes at end-of-life and the turmoil it can create amongst family members, sought to begin end-of-life discussions with all of his adult patients. Gradually, local hospitals were implored to do the same and today these discussions are a part of routine care. The program is expanding statewide, but practitioners say the big issue is getting paid for advance planning services to make sure the efforts continue.
Link to article (05/2015)