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| News & Events |
| March 03, 2010
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| NYS LEGISLATURE PASSES FAMILY HEALTH CARE DECISION |
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Albany, NY— On February 24, 2010, the New York State Senate passed the Family Health Care Decisions Act (FHCDA) by a vote of 55-3, empowering family members and others close to the patient to make health care decisions, including decisions about the withholding or withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment, on behalf of patients who lose their ability to make such decisions and have not prepared advance directives regarding their wishes. The bill passed the Assembly earlier this year and Governor Patterson has announced that he intends to sign it.
First introduced in the Legislature in 1993, the FHCDA was based on recommendations made by the New York State Task Force on Life and the Law. Without a statute such as the FHCDA, the common law of New York State provides that life-sustaining treatment cannot be withdrawn or withheld from an individual who has lost the capacity to make such decisions, unless clear and convincing evidence can be produced to show that the individual would have declined treatment if competent. Until the Legislature’s action, New York remained one of only two states in the nation lacking legislation or case law to permit close family members to make health care decisions for incapacitated patients.
For the past 17 years, the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State has joined with other supportive organizations in the Family Decisions Act Coalition to mobilize the Legislature to pass the FHCDA. Even with the passage of the FHCDA, New Yorkers are still encouraged to prepare a health care proxy, which allows an agent to make health care decisions on behalf of an individual if he or she later loses capacity.
According to Kathy McMahon, President and CEO of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York, “The Legislature is to be lauded for the long-awaited passage of the Family Health Care Decisions Act. This is a significant move that will help make hospice and palliative care more accessible to New Yorkers with a life-limiting illness who lack decision-making capacity.”
Niagara Hospice is a member of the Hospice and Palliative Care Association of New York State (HPCANYS) which is a not-for-profit organization representing hospice and palliative care programs, allied organizations and individuals that are interested in the development and growth of quality, comprehensive end-of-life services.
John Lomeo, President and CEO of Niagara Hospice said, “This is an essential piece of legislation for individuals faced with end-of-life challenges and even more important for family decision-makers. It will enable more families to choose hospice for their loved ones. Hospice providers across New York State provide essential care that is unduplicated by any other service provider and it is the gold standard for end-of-life care.”
Since serving its first patient in 1988, Niagara Hospice has served over 14,000 Niagara County residents as well as their immediate and extended families. Hospice is specialized care for the terminally ill that includes physical, emotional, and spiritual care as well as bereavement care for families. Hospice care is appropriate for any advanced stage illness, not just cancer, where the prognosis is a life expectancy of approximately six months or less. Services are provided in the patient’s or caregiver’s home, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, hospitals and at Niagara Hospice House. For more information visit NiagaraHospice.org or call (716) 439-4417. |
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