Sign the Petition!
Looking Ahead: Creating Infrastructure for MAID in Arizona Save this Link: it is your entry ticket to Kem's Open Office!
Volunteer Spotlight: Jay Scherotter
Upcoming Events: "If Medical aid in Dying were Legal, would You Say Yes?" Are you a Member of the League of Women Voters? Do you want to become one? Video: TED Talk by Elaine Fong
Help establish a compassionate end-of-life option for the terminally-ill in Arizona
As
of today we have 430 e-petition signatures from advocates in Arizona.
If you haven't already, please add your name to the growing list of
supporters in favor of legalizing Medical Aid in Dying in our
state. It will be presented to the legislature before next year's bill.
Looking Ahead: Creating Infrastructure for MAID in Arizona
by Dwight Moore, PhD, Chair of Arizona End of Life Options
What
happens when a state passes Medical Aid in Dying legislation but
doesn’t create the infrastructure needed to support it? Terminally
ill patients are left without doctors to qualify them, without
pharmacies to compound the medication, and without support from nurses,
social workers, and trained volunteers.
AZELO is working to ensure that terminally ill Arizonans have the legal
right to choose MAID and have access to the infrastructure needed to
carry out their wishes. The best practice is for a patient to be able to
call a central number and be assigned a local volunteer who will help
them understand the options, navigate the law, and talk to family
members about their choice.
Here’s what we need to make this happen:
Approximately 50 doctors across the state to serve as attending and
consulting physicians, 10 compounding pharmacies willing and able to mix
the medications, collaborative hospices who understand and accept a
patient’s wish to use the medical aid in dying option, hospitals and
medical associations who are knowledgeable and willing to introduce
patients to MAID, and doctors’ clinics who support this option. We
also need the support of social workers, disability agencies like the
Center of Disability Rights, funeral homes, clergy, death doulas, and
the coroners’ offices.
Medical professionals need to be educated about end-of-life options:
palliative sedation, hospice care, stopping medical treatment, when to
stop disease directed therapies, and voluntary stopping eating and
drinking. Intake people, volunteers, medical directors, and
educational staff need to be hired and trained.
Arizona End of Life Options wants to provide safe, simple, and
compassionate care for eligible patients, allowing each patient to
choose a death with dignity and nobility. We need committed
volunteers to help. To learn about AZELO’s mission and strategic
plans, visit or website at AZELO Home Page; to explore volunteer opportunities, go to AZELO Volunteer Info.
"What?" you are thinking, "what's this all
about?" Well, AZELO's Volunteer Coordinator, Kem Ellis happens to be
here to tell you all about it!
"The AZELO Volunteer Office is open twice a month via Zoom. Drop by any
time during the two hours the office is "open" to visit with other
volunteers, ask a question, or get the latest AZELO news. We also do
lots of brain storming, so be sure to join in!" ~Kem
Screenshot of our last Open Office
Here are a couple of comments from previous office hour participants:
from Sue: Thank you for hosting us today. It was fun, informative, and a great way to put names with faces!
from Sandy: I had such a good time visiting with y'all. It was almost
like really being with everyone. I think we are starting to come out of
our long dark tunnel and see the light that can be the impetus for us to
get going! I know it is for me. This time of year I try to plan my
projects, and until now I've had no desire to do so. But today opened
the door. Thank you so much for that. I hope to see you at the next one!
Sandy
from Marie: I love dropping by your Open Office, Kem. I set my coffee
beside me and sit in my favorite chair and then zoom in to see what's
new with others who drop in as well. Very relaxing and a safe way to get
some socializing in!
The AZELO Volunteer office will be open next on Monday, March 22 from 1:00-3:00.
Volunteer Spotlight: Jay Scherotter
by Sue Fulton, AZELO Reporter
AZELO
volunteers share a commitment to ensuring a MAID (medical aid in dying)
option for terminally ill Arizona residents. What’s it like to be an
AZELO volunteer? The process begins with learning about AZELO, exploring
volunteer opportunities, then choosing what fits your interests and
available time.
This month the AZELO Volunteer Spotlight shines on volunteer Jay Scherotter:
“I have come to understand a compassionate and evolving society provides
its citizens choices to direct and support their own well-being. This
includes choices regarding what to believe, how to responsibly express
oneself, how to live, and given the tragic circumstances of a terminal
illness, how to die.
I became involved in Arizona End-of-Life Options (AZELO) about three
years ago when I saw their table at a large community gathering at the
state capital. After a short conversation, I was drawn to the importance
of having a medical aid in dying policy for Arizona.
I want medical aid in dying (MAID) laws passed in Arizona to allow
everyone, regardless of means, to choose to have a death with dignity
choice. I want MAID laws passed to honor the memory of my friends,
family members, and father who had to experience needless suffering in
their last days. I want MAID laws passed so I and others don’t have to
move to another state or even country to have MAID as an option should a
family member have a terminal illness. MAID laws are not about party
politics, not about a specific religion, or traditions. I want
every elected legislator to understand MAID is about having a personal
choice to experience a death with dignity.
What I appreciate most about volunteering for AZELO is being able to
choose assignments that match my skills, interests, and availability. My
volunteer activities have involved supporting the Steering Committee,
preparing strategic and other planning documents, coordinating education
efforts, and communicating with state legislators. I feel this is
important work.”
We agree. Thank you, Jay!
To find out more about volunteering with AZELO, begin here: Volunteer Info
Upcoming Events
Are you a physician, nurse, social worker or pharmacist?
"If Medical aid in Dying were Legal, would You Say Yes?"
A free zoom town hall event for medical professionals
March 25, 2021 7:00 -8:00 pm Arizona time
Pre-registration required, see link below
Medical
Aid in Dying is not yet law in Arizona, but we estimate it could be in
2-3 years. Therefore, we need to begin preparing now. We will need
doctors who will be willing to be attending and consulting physicians,
compounding pharmacies to prepare the medicine, and nurses and social
workers well versed in the facts of how the law works.
If Medical Aid in Dying were Legal, would You Say Yes?is a webinar for healthcare professionals and refers to the following three important questions:
If
you were faced with a six-month terminal illness, relentless pain and a
poor quality of life, and MAID was legal, would you consider using the
law?
If one of your friends or family members were eligible for the law, would you support their decision?
If one of your patients or clients asked you to assist them in utilizing the law, would you say yes?
Are you a Member of the League of Women Voters (LWV)? Do you want to become one?
We
are looking for current League members throughout the state for a
project called "Concurrence for MAID in 2023!". Or have you ever
thought of joining the League of Women Voters but didn't want to pay the
membership dues? A League member has offered to sponsor you for
your first year membership! Men are also encouraged to join!
We are especially interested in those living in the following League
chapters: Metropolitan Phoenix, Northwest Maricopa County,
Northern Arizona and Central Yavapai County. LWV in many states
have endorsed MAID including New York, Maryland, Utah and New
Mexico. Help us add ARIZONA to that list! Call Mary Ganapol
at 520-907-5207 for more details.
Click the Image to Watch this Heartwarming TED Talk by Elaine Fong
After
a terminal cancer diagnosis upended 12 years of remission, all Elaine
Fong's mother wanted was a peaceful end of life. What she received
instead became a fight for the right to decide when. Fong shares the
heart-rending journey to honor her mother's choice for a death with
dignity -- and reflects on the need to explore our relationship to dying
so that we may redesign this final and most universal of human
experiences.
What
happens when a state passes Medical Aid in Dying legislation but
doesn’t create the infrastructure needed to support it? Terminally
ill patients are left without doctors to qualify them, without
pharmacies to compound the medication, and without support from nurses,
social workers, and trained volunteers.
