Planning For End-Of-Life Care Is More Crucial Than Ever. Here's How
The coronavirus pandemic has been a stark reminder "that things can change in a minute — and so you've got to be prepared," says Sunita Puri, medical director for palliative care at the Keck Medical Center at USC. One of the ways to do this is to decide what sorts of treatments you would want (or not want) in the case you became critically ill — and then document those wishes and share them with loved ones.
COVID-19 has now killed nearly .04 percent of the U.S.'s entire population – and sent an even higher proportion to the hospital for intensive treatment. But many – some 63% of adults in the U.S. – have not made formal plans for what they would want their critical care and, if it comes to it, their deaths, to look like.
Puri says, working in palliative care, she's seen numerous examples when careful end-of-life planning, done in advance of a crisis, can make a big difference. For
