Speaker:

Michael Demoratz, PhD, LCSW, CCM

Description:

Hospice referrals continue to occur late in the dying process. Palliative care and Portable Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) goals of care endeavor to achieve earlier hospice referral. The patient’s desire for greater control drives a focus on controversial access to physician aided death (PAD) and voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED). Case managers in a variety of settings should encourage patients and their family members to explore and consider care options before the time for having the conversation has passed. Dying patients and their families deserve an honest review of the medical, legal, and emotional resources to make this possible. The professional case manager is in a unique position to facilitate these discussions and ensure that the patient and family are able to spend their last days together according to their wishes.

Learning Outcomes:

• Describe the differences and similarities between hospice and palliative care
• Identify the legal documents available to clients to convey their wishes regarding end-of-life care options
• Define the differences between physician aided death (PAD) and voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) legally, ethically and clinically

Credit Information:

The Commission for Case Manager Certification (CCMC) is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation.

This program has been pre-approved by The Commission for Case Manager Certification to provide Ethics continuing education credit to CCM® board certified case managers. The course is approved for 1 Ethics CE contact hour(s). Activity code and Approval number will be awarded on your certificate of completion.

This program has been pre-approved by The Commission to provide Ethics continuing education credit to CDMS® board certified disability managers. The course is approved for 1 Ethics CE contact hour(s). Activity code and Approval number will be awarded on your certificate of completion.

To earn contact hours/CEs: In order to earn your contact hour(s)/CE, you will have to watch the presentation in its entirety and complete the survey. Once both the presentation and survey are marked as complete, you will receive your Certificate of Completion. If you are a CCM, your CEs will automatically record in your CCMC account.

Disclosures:

All planners and speakers have disclosed that they have no relevant financial relationships or conflicts of interest with commercial interests related directly or indirectly to this educational activity.

Commercial Support or Non-Commercial Sponsorship:
There is no commercial support for this activity. The planners and faculty have no relevant relationships to disclose.

Expiration date: 11/27/2026