The importance of getting ALL family members to agree to one’s end of life directions is underscored, explains health journalist Katy Butler, by hosptials’ default practice of maximizing medical interventions—even against the patient’s stated wishes—in order to protect themselves from lawsuits from relatives who do not accept the written medical directives.

Hospice is a nurturing and peaceful alternative to a hospital death, Butler adds, but its benefits are diminished by waiting too long to start using them.

Katy Butler will talk about finding “A Better Way of Death” at 7 pm on Tuesday, Nov. 12,  in Weill Hall on the Sonoma State campus.

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