Case #1091.0

Last Rights: Honoring a Patient's Wishes for Artificial Feeding

Publication Date: January 01, 1991
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Abstract:
After an elderly woman, in apparently failing health, is sent to a nursing home, the nursing staff becomes convinced that she is responding to care and treatment. In the wake of new medical problems, however, the physician hired by her family orders that she not be sustained by tube-feeding. When the nursing home refuses to suspend such treatments, the physician orders her transferred to another facility. Nurses, convinced that the patient's family may not have her best interests at heart, bring pressure on their director to halt the transfer--even if it means calling a state hotline designed to bring cases of mistreatment to the attention of authorities. The director must decide both whether the situation warrants such a drastic step--and the management implications of not taking any action.

Other Details

Case Author:
David Eddy Spicer
Faculty Lead:
Marc Roberts
Pages (incl. exhibits):
19
Setting:
United States
Language:
English
Funding Source:
Commonwealth Fund