On Sept. 17 at 1 p.m., End of Life Education will be meeting with our Archuleta County coroner, Brad Hunt, and possibly some of his assistants.
The group will also meet on Sept. 24, when we will start working on your right to make health care decisions beginning at 1 p.m. at the Community United Methodist Church at 434 Lewis St.
Use the side door into the fellowship hall (the main front doors may be locked).
There will be time for questions and a discussion of the presentation from Thursday, Sept. 17, made by Hunt.
Recent changes in state laws have increased what the coroner must do for every death in each county. If there is a death in your family, chances are good that you will need to work with him or his several assistants. It is important to have any questions about his talk answered so people feel most comfortable.
It is not 100 percent certain what our next main topic for Thursday, Sept. 24, will be after the coroner discussion time because on the evening of Wednesday, Sept. 16, the Pagosa Springs Medical Center Emergency Medical Service (EMS) put on a full program at its new downtown facility for everyone. The team may need some time to recover from it, or they may still be energized to present the same material to us. If they do not come, they will certainly be presenting this information to us at a later date.
If EMS does not come, we will start working on the very important booklet called “Your Right to Make Healthcare Decisions.”
We will read the documents, discuss them and start filling in the information needed. Federal law requires that you must be given information on these advance directives when you enter a hospital at a certain age. It is a much better time to do this now. There is also a medical power of attorney, a living will and CPR directive. Each person will finish these at home with an opportunity to ask questions at each of our sessions. The goal is for everyone to have them completed and signed by December.
We have not, as yet, spent important time on Colorado laws that aid a person at the end of life to shorten time of possible great pain, serious discomfort or great expense by personally taking a “home-delivered” drink. The process needs to be doctor-monitored and must follow our state laws precisely.
The doctors involved in this process are very busy, and may not be able to meet with us, but they will provide information and there will be a presentation and time for all questions at a later date. Let Joan Mieritz know this is a concern for you.
If you’d like to make a food donation to the pantry, please bring storable food. If you’d like to bring a treat for the group, you can do that also to add with our coffee and teas.
We hope to see you at these events for an important learning experience and something that you will find to be most helpful. We almost always realize that we are more capable and stronger than we ever thought we were. We will be learning a great deal at each of these programs and will become better, stronger and more complete living people.
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