SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Five years after a California law allowed doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill people who want to end their lives, new legislation introduced
SACRAMENTO
Five years after a California law allowed doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill people who want to end their lives, new legislation introduced Wednesday would make it easier for those who are dying to choose that option.
The bill would speed up the process for patients whose physicians certify they are close to death, and require hospitals that don’t allow physicians to participate to provide patients with information on the law that could include where they can get assistance at another healthcare facility.
“We know that thousands of Californians have been able to access the law, but we also know that there are unfortunately too many unnecessary regulatory roadblocks that are preventing dying patients from being able to access the law,” said Kim Callinan, chief executive of the Compassion and Choices Action Network, a national nonprofit that supports medical aid-in-dying laws.
SACRAMENTO
Five years after a California law allowed doctors to prescribe lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill people who want to end their lives, new legislation introduced Wednesday would make it easier for those who are dying to choose that option.
The bill would speed up the process for patients whose physicians certify they are close to death, and require hospitals that don’t allow physicians to participate to provide patients with information on the law that could include where they can get assistance at another healthcare facility.
“We know that thousands of Californians have been able to access the law, but we also know that there are unfortunately too many unnecessary regulatory roadblocks that are preventing dying patients from being able to access the law,” said Kim Callinan, chief executive of the Compassion and Choices Action Network, a national nonprofit that supports the physician-assisted death law.
Kaiser Permanente Commits $1 Million to Promote Racial Equity in Southern California
By Sentinel News Service
that prevent communities of color from achieving good health
Kaiser Permanente Commits $1 million dollars towards racial equity. (courtesy photo)
Kaiser Permanente, the nation’s largest integrated, nonprofit health system, today announced it has awarded $8.15 million to support 40 nonprofit and community-based organizations across the nation, whose programs address systemic racism and its accompanying trauma on individuals and communities of color.
This includes $1 million for 10 organizations in Southern California, and is part of a $25 million commitment Kaiser Permanente announced in June to promote health equity and break the cycle of racism-driven stresses that lead to poor health outcomes for its communities. Kaiser Permanente serves 4.7 million members in Southern California.
Hart Van Denburg/CPR News
Dr. John Eisenach sorts through his personal protective gear as he packs for California on Friday, Jan. 22, 2021.
To start 2021, Sara Kollman, a top nurse administrator with Kaiser Permanente based in Colorado, found herself in a place she wouldn’t have imagined a year ago: working as an ICU nurse in a hospital in southern California.
“Never in my 30 years have I walked through the ICU and seen so many people that aren t expected to live, that are on their bellies to help oxygenate their lungs and they re just very, very, very ill,” she said.
It’s been exhausting, emotional duty. She describes meeting a mother and her daughter, a similar age to her own, coming in for a final farewell for another family member.