| The Greater Washington Partnership for Palliative and End-of-Life Care |
Comfort Care Order
DC COMFORT CARE ORDER TRAINING
The Partnership is working with area hospitals and other health care facilities to assist in
the implementation of DC Law 13-224, the Emergency Medical Services Non-
Resuscitation Procedures Act of 2000, which was passed in November 2000 and came
into effect in August 2006. The Act establishes a formal protocol that allows physicians
to write Comfort Care Orders (CCO) -- DNR orders that will be respected outside of the
hospital setting for patients living in DC. The order is known as the Comfort Care Order
because it allows patients to opt to receive comfort care -- treatments that will help them
to feel more comfortable and improve their quality of life -- in lieu of resuscitative
procedures such as CPR.
GWP is coordinating hour-long trainings for health care professionals on the Comfort
Care Act which cover:
- Physician responsibilities
- Patient eligibility
- Authorized decision-makers
- How to obtain/process
- Revocation
To learn about how your health care facility can implement the CCO, or how you can
become a CCO Trainer, please contact Yolande Nanayakkara, Executive Director of the
Greater Washington Partnership, at (202) 895-9489 or yolanden@gwpartnership.org.
The Partnership is working with area hospitals and other health care facilities to assist in
the implementation of DC Law 13-224, the Emergency Medical Services Non-
Resuscitation Procedures Act of 2000, which was passed in November 2000 and came
into effect in August 2006. The Act establishes a formal protocol that allows physicians
to write Comfort Care Orders (CCO) -- DNR orders that will be respected outside of the
hospital setting for patients living in DC. The order is known as the Comfort Care Order
because it allows patients to opt to receive comfort care -- treatments that will help them
to feel more comfortable and improve their quality of life -- in lieu of resuscitative
procedures such as CPR.
GWP is coordinating hour-long trainings for health care professionals on the Comfort
Care Act which cover:
- The legislation, DC Law 13-224, and how it applies to health care professionals
- Background and history of CPR
- The Comfort Care Order
- Physician responsibilities
- Patient eligibility
- Authorized decision-makers
- How to obtain/process
- Revocation
- How best to tell the worst news – discussing the end of life
- Addressing diversity and cultural differences (e.g. decision-making styles)
- Preparation to answer patients' and family members' questions.
To learn about how your health care facility can implement the CCO, or how you can
become a CCO Trainer, please contact Yolande Nanayakkara, Executive Director of the
Greater Washington Partnership, at (202) 895-9489 or yolanden@gwpartnership.org.
COMFORT CARE ORDER
LINKS
For health care professionals:
For patients and families:
Official documents:
Organizations:
LINKS
For health care professionals:
For patients and families:
Official documents:
Organizations:
The Greater Washington
Partnership for Palliative
and End-of-Life Care:
Programs and Activities:
Resources and
Information:
Get involved:
Contact the Partnership:
Partnership for Palliative
and End-of-Life Care:
Programs and Activities:
Resources and
Information:
Get involved:
Contact the Partnership:
Comfort Care Order Training Events:
Tuesday, October 27, 2009: Registration is closed. Please visit again for more
information about future CCO training sessions
Tuesday, October 27, 2009: Registration is closed. Please visit again for more
information about future CCO training sessions