Bill would bolster end-of-life wishes

A bill that passed the House this week would help assure that an individual's wishes for end-of-life care are honored.

House Bill 2494 directs the state Department of Health to develop a simple form that spells out a person's preference regarding emergency and life-sustaining treatment. The legislation also limits legal liability for health-care providers who act in accordance with the preferences expressed on the form.

"For health-care providers in a medical emergency, it is a standard and understandable practice to do everything possible to save a person's life," said Rep. Jim Moeller, D-Vancouver, who serves on the House Health Care and Wellness Committee. "But the Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment form recognizes a basic truth: People have a right to personal feelings that don't necessarily fit with that practice."

Moeller's legislation emphasizes that the form must include clear "resuscitate" or "do not resuscitate" orders, along with directives for other medical care and treatment.

The form must be signed by the individual, by his or her legal representative, and by an advanced registered nurse practitioner, osteopathic physician, osteopathic physician assistant, physician, physician assistant or naturopath.

The bill offers immunity from liability to hospitals, hospices, nursing homes and other facilities that receive patients from emergency medical personnel. It stipulates that health-care providers may not require any person to sign the form.

The measure has the support of the Department of Health, the Washington State Hospital Association, the Washington State Medical Association and some groups that are advocates for the elderly.

Speaking against the bill in the House Judiciary Committee were representatives of the Washington State Bar Association and the Long-Term Care Ombudsman Program. Opponents raised concerns that not all facilities that care for the dying might have staff members who are able to correctly interpret the wishes of patients as expressed on the forms.

In 2006, Moeller won passage of a bill to create a Washington state registry of living wills. Living wills take effect if a person is terminally ill or unable to state his or her wishes for end-of-life care.

House Bill 2494 passed the House 83-14 and heads to the Senate.