The Co-Founders of Life Matters Media serve on the Illinois POLST Task Force, and would like to make this form available for you to download and discuss with your physician. POLST stands for “Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment.” It is designed to help health care professionals know and honor the life-sustaining wishes of their patients, promote patient autonomy by creating orders that reflect preferences, and facilitate appropriate treatment by emergency medicine and EMS personnel.
Health care providers are required by law to honor the treatment choices indicated on a POLST. The POLST is not intended to replace a power of attorney for health care form; it is to be used in addition to such a form for appropriate patients.
We invite and encourage use of the POLST form for the following:
- Those of any age for whom death within the next year would not be surprising
- Those with advanced illness or frailty and limited life expectancy
- Those who may lose the capacity to make health care decisions within the next year (patients with dementia)
- Those with strong preferences regarding current or anticipated end of life care
For those outside of Illinois, please head to POLST national website, polst.org
For Illinois residents:
More information for Illinois residents: cecc.info
For further reading, please head to related articles on the LMM Newswire:
- https://www.lifemattersmedia.org/2014/04/illinois-prepares-new-polst-form/
- https://www.lifemattersmedia.org/2013/03/illinois-polst-form-released-to-public/
- https://www.lifemattersmedia.org/2012/10/polst-coming-to-illinois/
- https://www.lifemattersmedia.org/2013/05/lmm-co-founder-mary-f-mulcahy-m-d-presents-polst-form-at-northwestern-memorial/