Mr. Jones, a 72-year old male, was admitted for coronary artery bypass surgery. The bypass surgery itself was successful, but Mr. Jones suffered a stroke during the procedure and never regained consciousness. During his lengthy stay in the hospital, he was placed on kidney dialysis, was permanently on a ventilator, had a feeding tube inserted and received several transfusions. After several months, he was diagnosed by his physician, Dr. Lee, as being in a persistent vegetative state (PVS). Mr. Jones was transferred back and forth to a transitional care unit, the hospital and eventually to a nursing home that had the resources for ventilator support and dialysis. After returning to the nursing home for
When treatment is futile but the patient (or the family or health care surrogate) insists on “doing everything possible to keep him or her…