Grave Concerns

This episode is about what happens in the last days/hours/minutes of your life. It's a wide ranging discussion with individuals who've walked with many people to the thresholds of life into Death. Their wisdom makes for a fascinating conversation. Guests joining host Cathy Wurzer are Dr. Vic Sandler with the HealthPartners Hospice program in the Minneapolis/St Paul area. Dr. Sandler is the chair of the Minnesota Network of Hospice and Palliative Medicine Physicians. Catheri...

People who take care of the dying say there seems to be several things those at the end-of-life really want. They want to repair damaged relationships, say thank you to people who meant the most to them and say the words, one last time, "I love you." Our guest, noted palliative care physician, Dr. Ira Byock also says asking for forgiveness and forgiving others is key to dying with a sense of well-being. As part of a wide-ranging conversation, Dr. Byock tells our host, Cathy ...

Nationally known palliative care doctor, Jessica Zitter, says medical school students are taught how to keep patients alive, but no one teaches them how to let a patient die. Dr. Zitter's best selling book "Extreme Measures", was part biography and part expose into how our culture deals with death and dying. She argues that our current medical culture puts patients on what she calls the "End of Life Conveyor Belt." Grave Concerns host Cathy Wurzer sat down with Jessica Zitter to t...

Life is so busy, who has time to think about stuff like wills, financial trusts, power of attorney or advance care directives? All important legal documents, but getting them done falls pretty far down our "to-do" list and there can be some pretty big consequences because of that. In this episode of "Grave Concerns" we have a check-list of items to ponder and why they are important, plus we touch on the topic of legacy. Two great guests in one episode: Jill Sauber, an elder law at...

It's difficult to think of our own death, much less the passing of a loved one. According to the Conversation Project, more than 90% of us think it's important to discuss end-of-life wishes, yet only a fraction of us do it. Those conversations happen even less frequently and it's often a taboo topic, especially among medical professionals and care providers for people with an intellectual and/or developmental disability. (IDD) Approximately 7 to 8.5 million people in the U.S. have...