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| Date: | March 15, 2012 | | Contact Name: | Libbie Krueger | | Contact Phone: | 651.296.1388 | | Contact Email: | elizabeth.krueger@senate.mn | | For Immediate Release | |
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| NIENOW BILL REQUIRES HOSPITALS TO REPORT FUTILITY POLICIES SEN. SEAN NIEWOW TO PRESENT BILL TO PROTECT THE LIFE OF A TERMINAL CHILD |
(ST. PAUL) -- Senator Sean Nienow (R-Cambridge) recently introduced a bill that requires hospitals to disclose their futility policies to the guardians of patients under the age of eighteen.
Senate File 2238 requires hospitals to report any policy they establish regarding medical futility to the parents of minor patients and to the commissioner of the Department of Health. A “futility policy” is the practice of withholding or encouraging to withhold the medical treatment on the grounds that such treatment is a waste of medical resources. Many hospitals have established futility policies that pre-determine care for patients with life-threatening injuries or illnesses.
“Most people assume that will have they will have rights when choosing treatment options in life and death situations. The truth is, many hospitals have pre-established policies that sometimes discourage parents from choosing to allow their child to fight for his or her life,” Nienow stated.
Nienow recently drafted a letter to the major Twin Cities hospitals requesting that they disclose if they have a standing policy regarding medical futility.
Nienow added, “I encourage medical facilities to be open and upfront with information regarding possible futility policies. If my child was facing a major medical problem, I would want to be assured that the hospital was doing everything they possibly could to save his or her life. Parents deserve to know the level of care that a medical facility is willing to provide for their child.”
Senate File 2238 is scheduled to receive a hearing in the Senate Health and Human Services Committee at 9:00 AM on Friday, March 16.
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