'Nite of the Living Will' offers end-of-life care and decision-making information

As part of its commitment to serving elders, the UH Law School’s Elder Law Program will offer the popular “Nite of the Living Will” program in the Moot Courtroom on the afternoon of Halloween, October 31. The free public program is scheduled for 3 p.m. and will focus on end-of-life medical treatment decision-making and advance-care planning. The program is particularly aimed at kupuna, family caregivers and service providers.

“This will help you communicate your wishes for end-of-life care,” said Professor James Pietsch, director of the UH Elder Law Program (UHELP) at the William S. Richardson School of Law. 

Discussion will include informed consent/informed refusal, surrogate decision-making, advance directives, including individual instructions for health care and  durable powers of attorney for health care, plus comfort care only and DNR bracelets/necklaces and Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST).

Said Acting Dean Melody K. MacKenzie, "The ʻNite of the Living Will' is one of the most popular programs offered by UHELP and serves to provide vital information to seniors and their families." 

Also available that afternoon will be the handbook produced by UHELP, Deciding What’s Next and Trying to Remember, which is useful for Hawai‘i’s older persons, families and caregivers.

The handbook is published as a partnership between UHELP and the City and County of Honolulu's Elderly Affairs Division, with funding from the U.S. Administration on Aging. It is written and compiled by Pietsch and Lenora Lee, UHELP administrative director. The handbooks are also available at the UH Law School administration front desk at 2515 Dole Street.

To save a seat, call (808) 956-6544 or send an email to uhelp.edu@gmail.com. Parking is available for $5 in the Parking Structure.

For more information, visit: https://www.law.hawaii.edu/