End of Life Option Act

The recent passage of California’s End of Life Option Act has raised many questions for physicians, hospitals, pharmacists, social workers and others.

After careful consideration, Adventist Health has chosen not to participate under the “death with dignity” legislation in California, or in any of the other states in which the health system has operations. This means that no Adventist Health employees, independent contractors, or other persons or entities may participate in activities under any death with dignity law while on the premises of an Adventist Health facility, or while acting within the scope of any employment or contractual relationship with Adventist Health. If a patient requests assistance under a death with dignity law, a referral may be provided.

In keeping with our mission, we believe our providers have an obligation to openly discuss the patient's concerns, unmet needs, feeling and desires about the dying process. Our goal is to help our providers pursue the underlying causes regarding the patient's questions and help the patient understand the range of available options, including comfort care, hospice care and pain control. We encourage all providers to respond to a patient's query about life-ending medication with openness and compassion. Ultimately, our goal is to help patients make informed decisions about end-of-life care.