Former Sen. Tom Daschle, and Obama's 1st choice for to be Secretary of Heath and Human Services, says an 85 year old who needs a bypass needs other options including oral medications or go to a hospice and die. Tom Daschle on the Steve Malsberg Show "spills the beans".
Daschle tries to spin the Hospice reference. He says you don't go there to die. Well a hospice is where Palliative care is provided. Palliative care is any form of medical care or treatment that concentrates on reducing the severity of the problem, rather than trying to halt, delay, or reverse the problem itself or provide a cure. In other words, you die, but more comfortably.
There is a lot to consider about giving an 85 year old a bypass- anesthesia for one! Depending on their health, hospice might be more appropriate and humane. Age alone is not a good indicator-it is deceiving. but dont knock hospice-it is amazing.
ReplyDeleteThe question is not about about the benefits of Hospice Care. It is whether or not they are going to mandate it for the elderly. Daschle says there is a choice, but is there?And who will make the choice.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment my dear Philip, my concern is also who will make the choice-or further, will there be a choice-I dont think it is fair to have the government decide on an issue which has many sides and is a personal decision. Family, doctors, clergymen-all those help a patient make a decision. But choice is the operative word.
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