Oregon POLST Program Newsletter Library
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Newsletters
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June 6, 2023 - Newsletter
July Deadline for Section C is quickly approaching – Oregon POLST Registry’s 2022 Annual Report – Call to Action to help disseminate the first 9 translated versions of the POLST factsheet for patients – Upcoming educational video for health care professionals
Access original newsletter online HERE.

February 28, 2023 - Newsletter
Oregon’s 14th version of the POLST form available now – Oregon Medical Board spotlights additional protections in Oregon’s 2023 POLST – “Sample” version of the Oregon POLST as a new educational tool – Oregon DHS Alerts on POLST use for LTC facilities and group homes – Two Chinese versions of POLST factsheet – Christine Mullowney, MD as New Chair of Oregon’s POLST Coalition
Access original newsletter online HERE.

October 5, 2022 - Newsletter
Oregon’s 14th version of the POLST form to be available in January 2023 – New POLST lay version factsheets with additional translations for greater inclusion – EMS app release by the Oregon POLST Registry – Effectiveness of Advance Care Planning: What Works, What Doesn’t, and What Needs to Change? by Drs. Susan Tolle and Katrina Hedberg – HERO Kids registry is first in the nation
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March 1, 2022 - Newsletter
Development of a POLST Smartphone App for Oregon’s EMS First Responders – The Release of the Oregon POLST Registry’s 2021 Annual Report – Christine Mullowney, MD as the New Co-chair of the Oregon POLST Coalition – New Clear Language POLST Factsheets in English and Spanish – 13 New Translations of Oregon’s POLST Form
Access original newsletter online HERE.

September 30, 2021 - Newsletter
Revolutionary Changes to The Oregon POLST Program’s Website – JAGS Publishes Systematic Review by Dr. Varnes and colleagues – Social Determinants of Health Associated with POLST Completion by Dr. Gievers and colleagues in The American Journal of Hospice and Palliative Medicine – September Oregon POLST Webinar POLST: Becoming More Inclusive of our NP and PA Colleagues presented by Susan Tolle, MD
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August 18, 2021 - Newsletter
Oregon POLST in The Journal of Palliative Medicine – Announcement to register for the Sept. 1st webinar, POLST: Becoming More Inclusive of our NP and PA Colleagues with Drs. Susan Tolle and Betty Ferrell – The recording of the July webinar on New Innovations: Oregon POLST Registry Expands Access and Informs Quality – New Changes to Washington State’s POLST Form – Hard-stop in ePOLST on Section C: Documenting Who Participated in a Patient’s POLST Discussion
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April 7, 2021 - News Alert
Topics include: A newly published editorial in The Journal of the American Geriatrics Society: “Aligning POLST Orders with Wishes: Time to Put Evidence into Practice” by Dr. Susan Tolle and related video – the just released 2020 Oregon POLST Registry (OPR) Annual Report
Access original newsletter online HERE.

March 2, 2021 - Newsletter
New York Times ‘Wrongful Life’ article – LGBTQ+ Patient Story – Recorded webinar on POLST & COVID-19 – Oregon’s Declining Trend in ‘Yes’ to CPR – Improved OPR Quality Reports
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December 1, 2020 - Newsletter
Clarifying ‘CPR/Limited Treatment’ – Most POLST Forms are Completed during Outpatient Care – “Yes” to CPR is Rising Again – National POLST Paradigm Policy of Not Incentivizing the Completion of POLST Forms – New Care Conversations Video
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October 28, 2020 - Newsletter
Oregon POLST Registry Launches Its New Data Platform – A New Patient Story: Standing Firm as a Surrogate for an Intellectually Disabled Person – Farewell to Coalition Member, Ted Ruback
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September 25, 2020 - Newsletter
Oregon POLST Coalition Adopts Statement Against Discrimination in End-of-Life Care – Office of Developmental Disabilities Services Provides an Updated Fact Sheet on POLST Use – A Case for Why Health Surrogates Should Not be Required to Sign POLSTs – University of Washington Reports Rate of Conflicting POLST Orders
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July 15, 2020 - Newsletter
Oregon Registry POLST Submissions Are Returning to 2019 Pre-Pandemic Levels – During the Pandemic Soliciting Feeding Tube Preferences Is Often Seen As Irrelevant – A Family’s Story Reminds Us Why the POLST Program Is Important when we learn how a loving mother’s desire to ensure a comfortable and caring death for her dying son – Senate Bill 1606 Reminds Us That Patients Should Never Feel Pressured to Complete a POLST Form – Pre-Existing POLST Medical Orders Are To Be Honored
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May 13, 2020 - Newsletter
A new 2-minute video: Improving Access to POLST is Essential in Honoring Patients’ Treatment Goals at the End of Life – COVID-19 and Particularly Vulnerable People: A Patient Advocate Perspective with Melissa Monner, MS
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April 22, 2020 - Newsletter
Oregon POLST Is Where It All Began – Oregon: A Spirit of Sharing POLST Policies and Innovations related to COVID-19, including a video presentation by Dr. Susan Tolle – “Moral Distress during a Time of Health Care Crisis: When Following the Rules Doesn’t Feel Right” a video presentation led by Dr. Tyler Tate
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March 25, 2020 - Newsletter
POLST Use in an Emergency Communicating in a Crisis: Skills to Honor the Previously Determined Preferences for Medical Care with Dr. Katie Stowers – Healthcare Communication in a Time of Resource Shortage with Dr. David Clarke – Caring for Yourself and Caring for Others During a Disaster/Epidemic with Susan Hedlund, LCSW, OSW-C – Oregon POLST Registry: 2019 Annual Report
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February 27, 2020 - Newsletter
Oregon Hospice & Palliative Care Association and the Academy of Family Physicians Endorse the Removal of the Artificially Administered Nutrition Section from the Oregon POLST Form – Oregon Medical Board Report Expresses Concern about POLST Use at Medicare Wellness Exams – Our Recorded Webinar Highlights What’s New in Oregon – Advocate Talk Scheduled in Corvallis, Oregon for March 6 – Underutilization of POLST at Hospital Discharge – University of Washington Study Raises Concerns about POLST Concordance
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December 4, 2019 - Newsletter
Oregon POLST Coalition Releases New Guidelines on POLST Use in Persons with Significant Disabilities – Professional Organizations Endorse Removal of Artificially Administered Nutrition from the Oregon POLST Form – Should Artificially Administered Nutrition Be Routinely Offered to Those with Advanced Dementia? – Oregon POLST Registry Celebrates its 10-Year Anniversary – Patient Stories Share How POLST Can Help Patients Achieve Their Goals – Webinar Announcement: January 14, 2020 “POLST: What’s New in Oregon?” with Drs. Susan Tolle and Abby Dotson
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October 25, 2019 - Newsletter
Reason Why Oregon Separated From the POLST Paradigm Office – POLST Paradigm Office Again Turns Oregon White on the Paradigm Map – Get Hospice POLST Forms Registered More Quickly with OPR’s POLST eSubmit Protocol – Oregon POLST Coalition Endorsement for Reaffirming PAs Ability to Sign POLST Forms – Oregon ACEP Endorses the Protocol to Check POLST in the ED – Requiring Surrogate Signatures on POLST Forms Places a Heavy Burden – The Oregon Academy of Family Physicians (OAFP) article: Too Much of a Good Thing? Not Everyone Needs a POLST Form.
Access original newsletter online HERE.

September 19, 2019 - Newsletter
Oregon Does Not Endorse the Current Version of the National POLST Form – Lessons Learned in the Revision of the Oregon POLST Form That Are Not Incorporated in the National POLST Form
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September 9, 2019 - Newsletter
An Update of Recent Publications: Dr. Susan Tolle’s Reply to Artificial Nutrition Belongs on POLST, Dana Zive and colleagues’ Injured Older Adults Transported by Emergency Medical Services: One Year Outcomes by POLST Status, and Dr. Ballou and colleagues’ Elderly Patients Presenting to a Level I Trauma Center with Physician Orders for a Life-Sustaining Treatment Form: A Propensity-Matched Analysis – Outreach Education: 2019 Oregon DHS Provider Alerts Promote Uptake of Innovation – The OMA article, To POLST or Not to POLST, by Coalition member Mark Bonanno, JD, MPH – Upcoming Events: NAEMSP/Oregon EMS Conference in Salem and Regional Palliative Care Conference, Building Bridges in the South Coast: Improving the Care of Seriously Ill Patients – Leadership Transition: Anthony Antoville as the new Executive Director of the Oregon POLST Program
Access original newsletter online HERE.

July 1, 2019 - Newsletter
Recent Publications: How Does the Completion of POLST Influence Emergency Department (ED) Treatment? Dr. Kelly Vranas and colleagues’ “The Association of Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment With Intensity of Treatment Among Patients Presenting to the Emergency Department” in the Annals of Emergency Medicine and Fay Blix and Susan Tolle’s “POLST®: Co-Piloting, Not Hijacking, the Advance Directive” in the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) Journal – Vital Communication Skills: Katie Stowers, DO will serve as the OHSU Center for Ethics’ Ronald W. Naito Director in Serious Illness Education – Leadership Transition: Valerie Jimenez, Executive Director of Oregon POLST, embarks on her next leadership role in the Office of the Chief Scientific Officer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas
Access original newsletter online HERE.

April 23, 2019 - Newsletter
Response to Tark et al.: Variations in POLST Programs, A Letter to the Editor written by Valerie Jimenez, BS, Abby Dotson, PhD, and Susan Tolle, MD – New POLST Video “Understanding POLST” reflects the updated 2019 POLST form – 2019 Oregon POLST form became effective on January 2, 2019 – Upcoming Events: May 2, 2019: Forum on Aging in Rural Oregon in Lincoln City, Oregon and May 9, 2019: “POLST: When is the right time?” at Samaritan Evergreen Hospice in Albany, Oregon
Access original newsletter online HERE.

March 1, 2019 - Newsletter
Recent Publications: Advance Care Planning: Selected States’ Efforts to Educate and Address Access Challenges published by the United States Government Accountability Office (GAO), “POLST Registration and Associated Outcomes Among Veterans With Advanced-Stage Lung Cancer” published in AJHPM, and Time to Remove Feeding Tubes from POLST: GeriPal podcast with Drs. Susan Tolle and Elizabeth Eckstrom on SoundCloud – Oregon Department of Human Services (DHS) alerts to Adult Foster Home Providers, Community Based Care: Assisted Living, Residential Care, Memory Care Facilities, and Nursing Facility Providers – New EDIE Feature Sends POLST Notification – Patient Stories Now Available Online – Oregon POLST Registry 2018 Annual Report – Upcoming Events
Access original newsletter online HERE.

Jan 31, 2019 - Newsletter
Recent Publication: Oregon becomes the first state to remove feeding tubes from POLST forms as published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society – Tips for Submitting to the Oregon POLST Registry – Upcoming Events
Access original newsletter online HERE.