Allina using new tool to let patients call the shots at end of their lives

[Star Tribune, March 10, 2010] Doug State entered hospice care two years ago knowing exactly how he wanted to die: at home in Cambridge, Minn., with his wife, Carol, and his dog, Teddy.

He got his wish a year ago at age 83, when his failing heart finally stopped just as he was sitting down to breakfast at his kitchen table. What Carol State remembers most clearly about that moment is that she was able to hold her husband and tell him she loved him as he left her life forever.

"The reality is that patients are not allowed to make informed decisions about their medical care," said Dr. Donald Grossbach, director of hospice care for Allina. "They [should] have the right do that."