| dc.description.abstract | Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatments (POLST) is changing the way we approach the end of life. POLST is a tool used to have conversations about end-of-life planning that includes patients, patient's families, and healthcare professionals. Patients who are chronically ill, and whom a healthcare professional feels has 12-18 months or less to live, should be considered for this conversation. Regardless of the high mortality rates among dialysis patients, little research has been done to examine patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) and their preferences for end-of-life care (Davison, 2010). The planning, development, and implementation of a POLST program for the Bemidji dialysis unit was completed. All staff and patients were educated about the POLST program, a screening tool and process flow chart were developed, and POLST facilitators were adequately trained. Implementing the POLST program for the Bemidji dialysis unit was successful with identifying patients who meet the specific criteria for a POLST conversation using the developed screening tool. Educating the dialysis staff about the benefits of the POLST program along with training the appropriate stakeholders for successful implementation of the POLST program was completed. Development of a POLST-process flow chart to fit the Bemidji dialysis unit was successfully completed. Implementing a POLST program is a lengthy process because many POLST conversations take over an hour to complete. Due to the time and space barriers, implementing the POLST conversations at the Bemidji dialysis unit is still in progress. Hopefully, once the barriers are addressed and resolved, successful implementation of the POLST program for Bemidji dialysis will follow. | en_US |
