Forms
Forms
Tools to Document Health Care Decisions
Sudden illness or accident can happen to anyone at any time. These forms enable adults to appoint a health care agent and to document their priorities and preferences for future health care needs.
Medical Decision-Making
Medical Decision-Making
Taking Steps Vermont
There may come a time when you are unable to speak for yourself. The best way to ensure that your wishes are known and honored is to talk with those closest to you and your health care providers about what matters most.
Start Taking Steps TodayMedical Ethics
Medical Ethics
Relevant Topics in Bioethics
Medical ethics is a field of study that draws from philosophy, law and medicine. There are four core principles in bioethics that define the ethical obligations that health care providers owe to patients. The application of these principles to individual cases can be helpful in resolving difficult questions that arise in health care.
Learn MorePalliative & End-of-Life Care
Palliative & End-of-Life Care
Information for those living with serious illness
Palliative care is specialized care that is directed at managing the symptoms of those who are living with serious or advanced illness. It is appropriate for individuals who are seeking treatment for their disease, as well as for those who have shifted their goals to a more comfort-directed plan of care.
Learn MoreLatest News & Upcoming Events
May 29, 2019 - VEN Spring Palliative Care Conference: Listening, Language & the Power of Truth-Telling
View the agenda, event details and how to register.
Learn More »Dax Cowart, Who Suffered for Patients’ Rights, Dies at 71 (New York Times)
"If the same thing were to occur tomorrow, and knowing that I could reach this point, I would still not want to be forced to undergo the pain and agony that I had to undergo to be alive now. I would want that choice to lie entirely with myself and no others.”
Read Article »Stem Cell Treatments Flourish With Little Evidence That They Work (New York Times)
The F.D.A. has taken an industry-friendly approach toward companies using unproven cell cocktails to treat people desperate for relief from aging or damaged joints.
Read Article »Community Advance Care Planning Events
Check out these advance care planning related educational events happening around the state this spring.
Learn More »National Health Care Decisions Day & Vermont Advance Directive Week 2019
April 16th was National Health Care Decisions Day and April 14th – 19th was Vermont Advance Directive Week. Learn about what we and our partners accomplished statewide through a coordinated advance care planning awareness effort.
Learn More »How to Make Doctors Think About Death (New York Times)
End-of-life treatment guidelines would help families, physicians and nurses confront the inevitable with care and compassion.
Read Article »