Statistics
- Nearly a third of all terminally ill patients use most or all of their
savings to cover uninsured medical expenses.
- More than 55% of people, many of them younger that 65, die in hospitals.
- A 1996 survey, 90% of the respondents said they preferred to die at home. In 1992 only 20% of Americans died in their homes.
- Chronic Illness accounts for every two of three deaths. It is estimated that approximately 70% of these people die after a decision is made to forgo life-sustaining treatment.
- Growing numbers of Baby Boomers are now part of the "sandwich generation, " caring for both children and parents
- Death is no longer seen as a natural AND inevitable event, but a medical failure.
- People rarely talk about the kind of care they want, reducing the chance they will get it and increasing burdens on their loved ones.
- Most people do not die in their own time, but only after someone makes a decision to withhold or withdraw medical treatment.
- Ethics committees function in over 90% of acute care hospitals.
- 31% of the adult American population are informal (unpaid) caregivers.
- One third of informal caregivers consider themselves to be in fair to poor health; citing physical strain and chronic stress as two conditions.
Statistics provided by www.lastacts.org , www.partnershipforcaring.org , PBS and The AMA.