By Theo Wells
Make the lives of our Paramedics easier – complete your POLST form.
The POLST links your wishes with 9-1-1 and an ambulance.
Two blue-and-white ambulances will be stationed at the new EMS building at Bayview, with room for one more. On Saturday, Sept. 19, there will be an open house between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m.
“We will have a quicker response capability to calls in the South Whidbey area,” said Roger Meyers, Whidbey General Hospital’s EMS manager in Coupeville.
Many people don’t yet know about the POLST – the Physican Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment – printed on lime-green paper. Your signed POLST is the best way to get paramedics to follow your preferences in a medical emergency. But you have to complete it before you need it – not when you’re in the ambulance.
Filling out the POLST is a joint venture with your physician. He or she – or other designated providers – is supposed to fill it out, based on your wishes and medical factors. But, practically speaking, if it’s going to get done, you may have to take the initiative. The internet can help answer your questions about some emergency measures. Your doctor can explain the rest, and will probably make recommendations.
If your doctor doesn’t have POLST forms, you can download one at the Washington State Medical Assn’s website http://www.wsma.org/patients/polst.html.
On the form, you record a few major decisions:
— You DO or DO NOT want CPR attempted.
— You choose one level of medical interventions: minimum; middling; or maximum. You continue with decisions about antibiotics, tube feeding, and the goals you and your doctor want to achieve. When you both sign and date the form, it becomes a standing medical order that Paramedics must follow.
The POLST is portable — it stays with you from the ambulance into hospital admittance, to whatever medical department you need, to another doctor or facility, and back out again. If necessary, changes can be made en route, always consulting with you so your wishes are respected.
Your POLST is the key link between your wishes and 9-1-1. Paramedics do what the POLST says. So put copies where Paramedics are expected to look: beside the bed; on the refrigerator door; in the freezer; and near the front door.
The bright green color draws paramedics like bees to honey. They grab and read the POLST and act as they go. They follow it as if it were law. I’ve had to call 9-1-1 twice, and both times they were fantastic. They knew exactly what to do, and they did it fast but with my comfort in mind. I was stabilized on the way to the hospital. They had lots of protocols and seemed to follow them all. I asked many questions and was treated with impeccable courtesy.
The POLST was originally designed for older people nearing their end of life. But how do we know when the end will come? Remember Terri Schiavo? She was in her early twenties when her persistent vegetative state led to endless court battles. Her case brought national attention to the need for us future patients to state our wishes loud and clear while we can. The POLST is our best way to prepare for emergencies. Perhaps it’s time to consider a POLST consultation appointment with your doctor?
Theo Wells is a counselor, author and workshop facilitator. This article is based on research for her next book, “On Your Own Terms: Take Care of Dying— Get On with Living,” coming next year. Contact: theowells@whidbey.com or 360-331-5744.
