 CCA Pilots Local POLST Outreach
Compassionate Care Alliance is one of just eight state coalitions
selected as a lead agency for Physician Orders for Life Sustaining
Treatment (POLST) outreach and education. The POLST form documents
an individual’s wishes regarding life-sustaining treatment, and
legislation requiring that providers honor the form in good faith took
effect this January in California. More than 20 states have or are
developing similar programs.
The brightly colored POLST form addresses topics such as pain management,
resuscitation orders, feeding procedures and other medical interventions.
Completed with the approval of both the patient and his or her physician,
the document is unique because it has the force of a physician’s
medical order. It is not a substitute for a living will or durable
power of attorney; instead, it was developed to remain with patients
wherever they travel or receive care.
The California HealthCare Foundation is funding POLST outreach at
the state and local levels, and the California Coalition for Compassionate
Care is leading educational efforts for the state. To inform Monterey
County constituents about the document, CCA assembled a core group
of professionals in December. Participants included leaders from Salinas
Valley Memorial Healthcare System, Community Hospital of the Monterey
Peninsula and Natividad Medical Center, plus representatives from emergency
medical service agencies, skilled nursing facilities, home health groups
and local law offices. Participating professionals will moderate POLST
workshops for their peers, and public outreach will be incorporated
into CCA's advance care workshop series that kicked off last winter.
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