MAGAZINE Fall 2015 California Passes Death With Dignity!

Support Grows to End Unwanted Medical Treatment

PLUS Our 2015 Annual Report

Labor Leader & Civil Rights Activist Dolores Huerta Answers Our Five Questions Fall 2015 contents Vol. 14 / No. 3

FEATURES 06 Golden Victory California passes an aid-in-dying law, our biggest win yet! VICTORY! End of Life Option 08 One Activist’s Story Act Becomes Law Compassion & Choices of Washington’s Robb Miller in California! builds a legacy.

06 12 Living Every Minute A dying doctor realizes the harm in fearing death. Make yours a 31 2015 Annual Report Together we made truly incredible progress over the past twelve months.

DOUBLE 24 08

DEPARTMENTS

02 Inside View

03 Words & Pictures Announcing an extraordinary opportunity for Compassion & Choices and supporters like you! 04 Keeping Count 12

A generous donor has offered to match your contribution 05 Words to Live (and Die) By dollar for dollar. Double your impact on the movement for choice and care at the end of life by giving today. Use the 11 Rx for Peace at Life’s End envelope in the center of this magazine or donate online by Compassion & Choices is the nation’s oldest and largest 14 Five Questions for Dolores Huerta nonprofit organization working to improve care and expand December 31 at CompassionAndChoices.org/double. choice at the end of life. We: 17 National Programs Update Support patients and families Educate the public and professionals Advocate across the nation 24 Advocacy in Action Advancing death with dignity since 1980. Learn more at CompassionAndChoices.org. 30 State Spotlight: New York inside view words & pictures MAGAZINE

Chief Editor Miles to Go Sonja Aliesch Art Director “After [Brittany] Maynard’s death in November, “Ten years ago, [Terri] Schiavo—a severely brain- Bhavna Kumar Every fall I reflect on the year lawmakers in more than 20 states and the District damaged Florida woman—became a national symbol soon to end. And often I’ve President — backed by advocates Compassion & Choices … for how not to die in America,” wrote Time Magazine taken pride in the steady Barbara Coombs Lee introduced end-of-life legislation,” wrote The Wash- in March. accumulation of Compassion Chief External Affairs Officer ington Post in its first editorial endorsing such laws, “Jeb Bush … signed ‘Terri’s Law’ in 2003 to reinsert & Choices’ victories and ad- Nick Simmonds published June 23. The endorsement mentioned three leading advocates who have worked with C&C: her feeding tube after courts had ordered it taken out.” vances. But 2015 was really Senior National Director of something else. Communications & Marketing Brittany Maynard, her mother, Debbie Ziegler, and “‘There was a spike in national interest in written Gwen Fitzgerald NPR radio talk show host Diane Rehm. advance directives,’” noted Compassion & Choices Momentum, begun last October Contributors “Death-with-dignity laws need to be carefully President Barbara Coombs Lee. “’… that was the with Brittany Maynard’s advo- Jane Sanders Jeanne Duncan first time people realized how intrusive government Sean Crowley Katie Wingo thought out, written and monitored. Oregon and the cacy, grew steadily throughout could actually be.’” Anne Singer Beth Davidson states that followed its example show that such care the year. Allies like you joined our movement by the thousands, and is possible. We hope the rest of the nation catches together we pushed on, higher and harder than ever before. The Advertising, Rights & Permission up with this humane option for life’s end.” heights of visibility and progress we’ve attained — including passing CompassionAndChoices.org [email protected] a death-with-dignity law in California — would have astounded us National office: just a few years ago. 1001 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 522 Washington, D.C. 20036 The Economist published both a cover story about On top of the momentous win in California, more states introduced Postmaster aid-in-dying legislation than ever before. More media voices featured Send address changes to: Compassion & Choices medical aid in dying and an editorial endorsing our stories and backed our mission. Ideas demonized as “death PO Box 101810, Denver, CO 80250 Popular online news journal Daily Kos praised Com- the option in June, saying it’s “an idea whose time Bulk postage paid at Denver, CO, passion & Choices’ website in August – specifically has come.” panels” a few years ago gained real traction. More Americans joined and additional mailing offices. our new End-of-Life Information Center. forces to empower people in ownership of their end-of-life pathways. In the normal course of business, Compassion The story quotes Barbara Coombs Lee on death- & Choices regularly exchanges mailing lists with other like-minded organizations. If you would “They cover much of the information that anyone with-dignity laws: “We are finally reaching a point In this issue of Compassion & Choices Magazine, we share just how like to have your name removed from these needs to know, and it’s well worth at least reading where we not only have data to back up that this law remarkable 2015 has been. We also spell out some strategies to exchanges, please notify us in writing, including through,” the piece states after itemizing the many works, but we have decades of experience with a build on this tremendous momentum. Because just as our greatest your name and address. We will honor your wish upon receipt of your request. resources available for download through the Center. state that allows aid in dying.” successes have come through years of determined steps, through stalls and setbacks, those ahead will require the same steady, Photo/Illustration Credits cover, p. 14-15: J. Emilio Flores tenacious pace. p. 2, 23: Owen Carey p. 6-7, 19, 24-25, 32: Cindy Hegger MEDIA I thank you for all you have done to bring the end-of-life choice p. 8-9: courtesy of Robb Miller p. 12: James O’Brien Watch Brittany Maynard Commemorative Video at: movement this far —­ such a heroic distance! Even more, I’m p. 16: Harvey Richards Media Archive / TheBrittanyFund.org enormously grateful to have you with us for the climb ahead. © Paul Richards p. 17, 18, 22, 34: Zoeica Images C&C’s campaign with Brittany p. 20: Sandy Huffaker (top) Maynard started with a video that p. 24: courtesy of Brittany Maynard You can check out the best Compassion went viral in October 2014. C&C p. 27: Trenton Photographers (top) commemorated the anniversary p. 27: Richard Greene (bottom) & Choices news clips of 2015 here: with a new video featuring never- Barbara Coombs Lee p. 32: © Harpo, Inc. / George Burns (bottom) CompassionAndChoices.org/newsclips before-seen footage of Brittany as PA, FNP, JD p. 33: courtesy of Rep. Dan Zwonitzer well as a series of events across the , President p. 35: Jennifer Bishop country urging legislative action on IBC: Leo Howard Lubow; lubowphotography.com death-with-dignity bills.

2 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 3 keeping count words to live (and die) by

Tireless effort at every level of the organization and Whether you are running for office, trying to change consumer behavior One GIANT your dedicated activism made 2015 a year of exceptional or working to get new laws passed, you need a campaign to succeed. growth for Compassion & Choices and the end-of-life Here are three tested communications tactics campaigners live by … Year for C&C choice movement. Look what we’ve done together!

VIRAL VIDEO: The our More than # of people More than 100,000 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube End-of-Life Consulation every day, but a viral video is one so powerful, people program served sharing it via e-mail and social media make it exponentially 400,000 popular, earning it millions of views in a short time. new supporters joined our movement Brittany Maynard’s October 6, 2014, video was doubled viewed three million times in its first three days.

EXCLUSIVE: A mutually beneficial arrangement in which an important news outlet gets first rights to publish valuable information or a “scoop” provided by a person or group, and agrees to coordinate the publication time so the person or group can strategically plan for it. Other news outlets can cover the story subsequently. C&C gave People Magazine online the exclusive on Brittany’s story and first video.

Over the states We achieved a in the nation considered death-with-dignity legislation 500% MICROSITE: jump in news Individual webpages or a small collection of pages that media coverage deliver a single, uncluttered message and can also be more easily found through search engines because of their narrow focus. Microsites usually link to a main or parent website. TheBrittanyFund.org is the microsite C&C launched on October 6 for journalists, new supporters and volunteers to visit and learn about this amazing young woman. 4 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 5 Read Governor Brown’s contemplative signing statement, noting the “heartfelt pleas” of Brittany Maynard and Archbishop Desmond Tutu, at bit.ly/GovBrownDWD.

We trained 1,060 volunteers, made 1,329 legislative have the choice of aid in dying as one of their end- visits and held 465 events. I’ve worked on many of-life options,” she said. “No more worrying that campaigns, and I’d never seen anything like this.” they will suffer great physical and emotional pain at the end of their life, when they have already suffered Another game-changer: the powerful California painfully for so long.” Medical Association (CMA) — which had for decades opposed death-with-dignity bills — adopting a neutral Dan Diaz, Brittany Maynard’s widower, added, “My wife position. During the special session, C&C staffers was an extraordinarily loving individual who tried to worked with the CMA to modify the bill to include make a difference for the rest of us, even while she was safeguards sufficient to deter potential opponents battling persistent pain and discomfort at the end of in the bill’s final language. her life. Working with the talented staff and volunteers GOLDEN VICTORY at Compassion & Choices, Brittany was able to spread Compassion & Choices’ Biggest Win in Two Decades At the heart of this effort were the 122 storytellers her message and help get this vital piece of legisla- C&C staff identified and supported. The stories they tion into law. I feel an immense pride in Brittany and told made death with dignity about people, not C&C for what we were able to accomplish this year.” process. They met with legislators and reporters, and In a historic moment for terminally ill adults and their and legitimate medical practice in California within rallied support for the End of Life Option Act, self- loved ones in the Golden State — and a hard-fought five years. Thanks to a savvy, multi-pronged effort lessly giving energy, passion and time — of which many victory for Compassion & Choices activists and sup- fueled by generous C&C supporters, we achieved had precious little left — to amplify the campaign’s porters — California Governor Jerry Brown signed that goal in just 24 months. cry: California can’t wait. the End of Life Option Act into law on October 5. C&C’s experienced strategists were prepared to wage One storyteller not just amplified but personified that The California Senate and Assembly approved this this campaign on several fronts: in the legislature, in theme, to our collective grief. Jennifer Glass, battling landmark statute, which authorizes adults with six municipal chambers and courtrooms, and potentially advanced lung cancer, was one of the movement’s months or less to live to request a doctor’s prescrip- on the 2016 ballot. But as we pursued that varied most spirited advocates — testifying in Sacramento, tion for life-ending medication, on bi-partisan votes. It strategy, the world’s unequivocal embrace of California producing motivational videos, blogging, writing was authored by Assemblymember Susan Talamantes native Brittany Maynard in the fall of 2014 motivated op-eds and more. Heartbreakingly, Jennifer passed Eggman and coauthored by Senate Majority Leader legislators to move more quickly. away in August, just one week before our redoubled Christy O’Donnell with her daughter, Bailey, in front of a California state Bill Monning and Senate Majority Whip Lois Wolk. push to pass the End of Life Option Act during the symbol, the grizzly bear, at the Capitol building “The minute Brittany’s story broke, legislators began special session. “We applaud Governor Brown for listening to his calling us,” said Compassion & Choices California constituents — 75 percent of whom support this Political Director Charmaine Manansala. “This complex While this incredible victory heralds a more humane law — and giving terminally ill Californians the right issue now had a face. People understood that no day for terminally ill Californians, our fight is far from to die peacefully and painlessly,” said Compassion one should have to uproot herself from her home, over. C&C will be prepared to defend the law in & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee. “Today’s especially when dying.” court or at the ballot. We’ll also work with physicians indisputable triumph truly honors Brittany Maynard, to fully integrate aid in dying into California’s medical Jennifer Glass, and every storyteller and supporter C&C has long tried to pass aid-in-dying legislation in system to ensure that aid in dying becomes what the who made this issue so urgent and personal to California. So why did we succeed this time, during law intends: open and accessible. people across America.” a high-stakes special session, no less? Organization and communication, said Manansala. “This time, Christy O’Donnell, a 47-year-old single mom from This stunning achievement — the biggest since C&C had the resources to really push this campaign, Santa Clarita dying from cancer and one of C&C’s The late Jennifer Glass speaks out in support of the End of Life Option Oregon’s Death With Dignity Act was approved by from the grasstops to the grassroots. We had an most vocal advocates, celebrated this remarkable Act. Pictured from left to right: Sen. Majority Whip Lois Wolk, Sen. Dr. voters in 1994 — emanated from C&C’s public 2013 on-the-ground California communications team moment. “I’m overjoyed for all the terminally ill in Ed Hernandez, Dan Diaz (obscured), Sen. Majority Leader Bill Monning, Assemblymember Christina Garcia, Jennifer Glass, Debbie Ziegler, pledge to make aid in dying an open, accessible talking to voters, physicians, legislators and media. California who can now relax knowing they finally Dr. Robert Olvera and Assemblymember Susan Talamantes Eggman

6 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 7 ONE would die at home and to help him die when he ACTIVIST’S . . . Robb Miller builds a legacy could no longer walk. Randy was receiving hospice care, but it could not manage his extreme pain. Few have done more to build the movement for end-of-life “I asked his hospice provider how we could honor STORY choice than Robb Miller, who stepped down as executive Randy’s wish and shorten the dying process. They director of Compassion & Choices of Washington in April, one month after the 15th anniversary of his joining us. were completely unhelpful. ‘Sorry, that isn’t what we do,’ they said.”

In 1996, after Randy’s death, Robb began his own An admired and beloved leader, “We were a small nonprofit called I was diagnosed with HIV, which end-of-life planning in order to avoid the needless Robb helped turn C&C of Wash- Compassion in Dying when Robb in 1994 was a terminal diagnosis.” suffering his partner had endured. That’s when he ington into the third-largest choice- joined us, and his arrival began to learned about Compassion & Choices. Here was an in-dying organization in the country. lay the foundation for our move- His story parallels the early organization that could have eased Randy’s pain at His legacy includes passage of ment’s professional evolution and death-with-dignity movement in the end of life — yet his caregivers had withheld Initiative 1000 in 2008, which explosive growth,” says Compas- Washington, which emerged from information about it. made Washington the second sion & Choices President Barbara the movement to improve care for state to authorize aid in dying. Coombs Lee. “Many times Robb’s people with AIDS. “The number Hospice “made a conscious choice to deny us keen mind, clear voice and impec- of people who were dying from information that could have reduced or eliminated cable integrity have guided us. AIDS and the manner in which Randy’s immeasurable suffering,” he says. “This Robb with his partner, Randy He is a steady, bright light illumi- they were dying — alone, some of made me very angry. I have always carried that nating the path to human dignity them violently, at their own hands anger and desire for justice for Randy and at life’s end.” — compelled a few compassionate others who died in ways that were activists to provide counseling abhorrent to them.” Robb was drawn to the cause and presence at the time of through personal experience. death,” Robb says. “I was living Robb became a client of “In 1994, we found out that my that experience.” C&C of Washington’s partner, Randy, was dying from End-of-Life Consultation complications related to AIDS,” As his illness progressed, Randy Service; but as he Robb says. “Shortly after that, asked Robb to promise that he planned for his death,

Robb Miller Executive Director of C&C Washington 2000 - 2015 8 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 The doctors in our movement are heroes. Their courage “If I did anything as executive director, and altruism help make it was to carve a place at the table for end-of-life options possible. C&C among the organizations seeking to improve end-of-life care in Washington.” – Robb Miller

he also began to take a new kind of medication. By the time voters approved Initiative 1000 in 2008, Robb’s health started to improve dramatically. Don Robb had turned C&C of Washington into a power- Cook, Robb’s case manager and one of the founders house of advocacy and political change. The campaign of Compassion in Dying, suggested he be classified was a high point in a career of highs. “It felt like as inactive. “That was a good day,” Robb recalls. justice for me, for Randy, for all those people who Dr. Jeannie Juster “Like graduating. It doesn’t happen often.”But that had to die miserably, violently or alone,” he says. was just the beginning of Robb’s relationship with “It is my belief that passage of this law changed the for Dr. Jeannie Juster, an emergency room physician for 33 Compassion & Choices. He continued to follow and paradigm of end-of-life care in Washington.” years, recently signed on as a medical director for Compassion support the organization, and in 2000, applied for the job of executive director of C&C of Washington. Robb could take a lot of credit for that — but he PEACE & Choices Oregon. A windsurfer and outdoors enthusiast, is quick to deflect praise. Instead, he points to the at she’s been a supporter of C&C since its founding. “Nothing in my background indicated that I would courage of those who started Compassion in Dying. Life’s End go in this direction,” he says. A classically trained “I am a direct beneficiary of the pioneers who went trumpet player, Robb held a degree in music perfor- out on a limb for people like me,” he says. atient autonomy has always been a major part interventions (see story on page 17). Procedures mance and theory. After playing with orchestras, he of my outlook. Philosophically it’s an issue were reimbursed, but talking wasn’t. Now there will changed careers, earned a degree in kinesiology and Last year, Robb and his current partner got married. “ that I felt was very important even in medical be more of a balance. became an athletic director. “All these wonderful things have happened since P school; it was my generation of new doctors that I should have died,” he says. “If not for C&C, I am really started thinking about it. Medicine has since Even young people have to ask themselves what But Randy’s death — and that of Robb’s father, who pretty sure I wouldn’t still be here, and I know I veered away from being a very patriarchal type of they would want. It’s so hard to visualize oneself in died of cancer in 1995 — ignited in Robb a burning wouldn’t feel that my life has had the meaning that enterprise with the physician telling the patient what major decline, but eventually we’re all going to face desire for change. This, plus sharp administrative skills it’s had. I am one of the very few people who can was best for him. Now patients can really engage as it. You don’t have to dwell on your own mortality, and more than his fair share of personal charisma, say if I died tomorrow, I would die fulfilled.” n equals with their physician, talking about what they but it’s a comfort to have the dialogue and have it made Robb the ideal leader for a group poised to want and how together they can effect that. It’s been out in the open so no one is blindsided.” break into the mainstream. Honor Robb Miller’s legacy by completing your a massive transformation. own advance directive and, if you become seriously When Robb was hired, C&C of Washington was little ill, a POLST. Visit CompassionAndChoices.org/ But it’s not perfect yet, and part of it is generational. more than a one-person shop. information to find a variety of end-of-life Some people still expect their physician to tell them planning tools. what is best for them instead of starting a dialogue But things began to change with Robb at the helm. PASS IT ON! ▼ ▼ about what, ideally, they want and what’s possible Over the next few years, Robb pushed to make Spread the word about the end-of-life choice at what cost. And physicians are restricted time-wise end-of-life care a priority for healthcare providers. movement by giving this issue to friends, In September 2015, C&C Washington changed because there’s so much emphasis on productivity, He was an early advocate of Washington’s adoption co-workers or your doctor. Request more at its name to End of Life Washington and now and it takes a long time to have these conversations. of the Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment [email protected] operates independently of C&C. Going forward, So I’m really pleased at the emphasis Medicare has (POLST) and promoted widespread use of advance Compassion & Choices and End of Life Washington placed on reimbursing physicians for having these directives. Robb formed alliances with other health- are committed to fostering a strong, collaborative important discussions because medicine had gotten care organizations that would make C&C of Washington relationship around our shared goals. a little bit away from making time for communicative a leader in the community.

10 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 11 As I sat in my hospital bed following my second round Professionally, I understand in a deeper way that of intensive consolidation chemo and seven days of death is not a medical event. It is a central life cycle neutropenic fever, the infectious disease (ID) attend- event that we will all successfully complete, no ing shared that I likely had a viral infection that my matter how much medical care we get or don’t get, returning white count should take care of. However, or how healthfully we live or don’t live our lives. there was a small chance I had PCP pneumonia, and Death is a process to be lived not a problem to be if that was the case, then without treatment I would solved. Yet literally every clinician Annalu and I have die. The best way to be certain I didn’t have the interacted with is more afraid of death than we are; lethal PCP pneumonia was to have a bronchoscopy. they focus on solving the problems of our illness with He then asked me, “What do you want to do?” I little awareness of how we want to live our lives. It is smiled to myself as I considered his question. First, a paradox. The clinician is focusing on “treating” the I was in no shape to decide much of anything given illness that threatens life, but the “life” of the person how muddled my mind was by both sickness and who is ill is invisible. It is critical for clinicians to embrace grief. But the answer arose from within my inner self. death as a normal part of life, so they can accompany “I don’t want to do anything that would make me and guide the patients and families they serve feel worse. I feel a bit better now than when I came through the sacred process of living until death. into the hospital. I want to wait and see if I continue to improve. There is a very small chance I have PCP As I gaze into mortality, love sits in the center of my pneumonia and a very large chance I have a virus consciousness. Love is the inspiration that creates my that will get better. If I’m wrong, I am at peace with courage to move forward as a caregiver to my wife, the consequences, including death.” Much to my a patient receiving care, a father accepting support surprise the ID attending said, “That is the same from my children, and a human simultaneously living Living Every Minute choice I would make.” and inevitably dying in the miracle of this world. by Stuart Farber, MD I was dumbfounded. Every word he shared led me As I sit with my medical caregivers, I see fear of Department of Family Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle to think he wanted to do a bronchoscopy. I am con- failure at the center of their consciousness, with death vinced that almost every patient who participated in being the ultimate defeat. These professionals actively, On Halloween 2013, I went to the emergency room The fundamental lesson I have learned as a profes- the same discussion would opt for a bronchoscopy. albeit unconsciously, convey that living longer is with chest pain and shortness of breath. Thus began sional patient is that clinicians and patients/families How can this be? It is craziness. Yet it is repeatedly always preferable to dying, but they fail to appreciate our odyssey with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). inhabit two entirely different worlds. Unfortunately, our experience. How to integrate these two worlds that the most important act is to support living in I say ‘‘our’’ because this journey has emphasized how the medical world is the one that holds dominion. into one shared world is the critical challenge. harmony with a narrative thread. It is another of the I live within a network of relationships that includes The surging currents of medicine sweep everyone many paradoxes that I live within. I leave my insights self, family, community and colleagues. Much to my down a river rushing toward life-prolonging treat- So what have I learned from my new friend Leukemia? as a legacy for others to reflect upon and use as they surprise, I chose to undergo eight months of aggres- ment as inevitably as the tides follow the moon. The Personally, I always knew that I was going to die. I just see fit for the benefit of themselves and all those sive chemotherapy and at the time was in ‘‘cytologic fallacy that I am an autonomous individual who can didn’t believe it. Now I get it to my core. Knowing they touch. remission.’’ and should make treatment decisions based on the I am mortal is a sacred knowledge that makes each medical facts provided by my clinicians continues to moment an awesome gift filled with opportunity for Editors’ Note: Dr. Farber died peacefully at home with hospice Four months into our journey, Annalu, my wife and confront Annalu and me at every medical crisis point. love, joy, and peace. It has transformed how I live on February 27, 2015. Getting this article published was an important part of his legacy work, and it contributed greatly to caregiver, also was diagnosed with AML. She chose Discussions focus on treatments to prolong life and my life. If I know I am mortal, then what is important? his meaning and purpose knowing that he may not live to see to undergo the same aggressive chemotherapy. make invisible the very life we are living. This medical Sharing love and joy within my relationships: with it in print. He will be missed by all. No surprise to us, physical suffering is the foundation model protects clinicians from having to make tough myself, my wife, my family, my grandchildren, my of the worst but medicalization of our lives is a decisions and having to engage with their patients friends, my colleagues, and the community in this This is an edited version of an article that originally appeared in close second. and families on an intensely personal level. very moment we are living. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management Vol. 49 No. 4, Apr.‘15.

12 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 13 Five Questions for Dolores Huerta

Legendary labor leader and activist Dolores Huerta has fought for civil rights most of her life. From launching the National Farm Workers Association with César Chávez in 1962 to creating the Dolores Huerta Foundation in 2002, she continues, at 85, to tenaciously advocate for social justice. Most recently, she joined Compassion & Choices’ efforts to pass California’s aid-in-dying law.

You have a phenomenal background in Q: human rights activism, persisting through difficult, even dangerous, situations. Why are you willing to take on such tough work? Because of the need. I first saw the great Dolores Huerta celebrating her : necessity due to the poverty and discrimina- 85th birthday at La Plaza de A Cultura y Artes in Los Angeles tion some people suffered. Then once I learned how to organize, I knew that the way they could overcome it was by coming together, by organizing, by finding the power in their own person to start challenging the issues they had to live with — empowering them to advocate for themselves.

14 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 15 National Programs Update

Can the average person create significant Q: change? Praise for New Bipartisan Legislation to Absolutely. Everybody needs to be engaged Prevent Unwanted Medical Treatment A: and informed about what’s going on in the world, especially about laws that are being Below are excerpts from a widely pub- and space to do so thoughtfully, before a crisis and passed. But it’s not just about passing laws lished op-ed written by Daniel Wilson, when the patient can advocate for herself. that are helpful to people. It’s also important outgoing director of federal programs to elect candidates to our city councils, at Compassion & Choices The Care Planning Act will go a long way toward school boards, state legislatures and U.S. ensuring that once a Medicare recipient has deter- Congress who are really going to help the Roughly 25 million Americans have been subjected mined and documented their treatment preferences, people and are not just there for their own to unwanted medical treatment at some point in those preferences go with them. It brings in the Dolores Huerta holds a sign that says “Strike” in Spanish at the beginning opportunistic gain. We have to vote for their lives, and that means we have a healthcare patient’s family members, friends, religious figures and of the Delano, Calif., grape strike in 1965 people who work for the common good. system that is not listening to patients. We all say their health care team to create a larger community we believe in more patient-centered healthcare, and of individuals who will understand and support the now we have a bill in the U.S. Congress that would choices the patient makes. It even allows for training Social issues move slowly, and the obsta- Does the end-of-life choice movement put our money where our mouths are. Literally. of people in the patient’s inner circle of family and Q: cles can be discouraging. Did you ever Q: parallel any of the other issues on which caregivers in how to help implement their plan when want to quit? you’ve worked? Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Johnny Isakson the time comes. It’s probably most similar to rights for women (R-GA) have introduced legislation that would make Not really. There were times it became We are so proud to support the Care Planning Act : difficult. But when you do this kind of work : and reproductive rights. People have to sure Medicare recipients and their doctors know how A A much or how little treatment those patients would of 2015, alongside a growing list of organizations understand it’s a personal choice. We should you always have setbacks, so it’s just know- including the American Academy of Family Physicians have the right to make these decisions for want as they approach the end of life. The Care Plan- ing that if you have a setback you can’t quit, and the American Geriatrics Society. It gets us closer because if you quit, you lose. You have to ourselves, and other people shouldn’t interfere. ning Act of 2015 would specifically create a Medicare benefit for people facing grave illness to work with to the patient-centered care everyone supports, and keep organizing until you achieve your goals. There’s a quote by a great Mexican president their doctor to define, articulate and document their with its bipartisan sponsorship, there is every reason Setbacks only make you stronger, because named Benito Juárez. He said, “Respect personal goals for treatment. Doctors will be rewarded for it to pass and give Americans more power in our you’re not going to make the same mistakes. for the rights of others means peace.” This with reimbursement for helping patients make very healthcare system. And you need to have hope, faith in your- is another issue that fits into the realm of important end-of-life decisions when there is time self, faith in the people that you’re working human rights. People should be able to with and faith in the cause that you’re decide what they want at the end of life. working on. If they are in pain and are going to die The Campaign to End Unwanted Medical Treatment, of anyway, they should be able to make any which C&C is a collaborator, hosted a Capitol Hill briefing choice they want. where Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA) discussed The Care Planning For decades you’ve devoted yourself Act of 2015, which he introduced with Sen. Johnny Isakson Q: to important causes. When do you plan (R-GA). Warner is known for working across the aisle and to retire? called his bipartisan bill the kind of “common ground” solution that can pass Congress. It is smart legislation that I don’t intend to! As long as I have the involves a broad range of health providers in helping seriously A: energy and the health to keep on working, ill patients determine and document their treatment goals. I’m going to continue.

16 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 17 national programs update

Campaign to End Unwanted Medical Treatment In the Courts Names Amy Berman Honorary Spokesperson Compassion & Choices’ legal advocacy is one of the strat- egies used to authorize aid in dying across America and she helps advance the conversation and the fight to ensure patients receive the care they want — nothing ensure availability of a full range of end-of-life options. less, nothing more. California The Campaign also released a compendium of C&C filed a lawsuit O’Donnell( v. Harris) on behalf of three Californians policy briefs reflecting some of the best thinking on with terminal or advanced diseases and a physician. On July 24, a San healthcare at the end of life, written by policy experts Diego County Superior Court judge dismissed the case, which asserts at the National Academy of Social Insurance. The the California constitution and existing state law allow terminally ill first paper updates readers on the legislative and adults the option of medical aid in dying. An appeal is underway. regulatory environment in which the Campaign to Terminally ill lead plaintiff Christy O’Donnell spoke to reporters after End UMT seeks to effect policy changes. The second the judge’s decision, issued on her 47th birthday, saying, “This is not paper covers the presentation made at the Campaign’s the outcome I had prayed for, but as a lawyer, I am confident the appeals inaugural lunch briefing by Dr. Bernard “Bud” court will see our case in a different light.” Amy Berman, keynote speaker at the End UMT campaign’s April luncheon in Washington, D.C. Hammes, who directs the pioneering, successful and effective advance care planning programs across New Mexico On August 11, a New Mexico appeals court reversed a 2014 district the Gundersen Health System in La Crosse, Wis. Plaintiffs Elizabeth Wallner and Christy The Campaign to End Unwanted Medical Treatment There are also papers describing Campaign lunch court ruling that aid in dying is a “fundamental liberty interest” under O’Donnell after the California court hearing (UMT) welcomes its first honorary spokesperson, briefings by former Obama Administration health the New Mexico Constitution. While the decision is disappointing, the Amy Berman. As keynote speaker at the End UMT policy expert Chris Dawe on hospice usage, and by ruling was fractured —­ with three judges writing three different opinions. campaign’s April luncheon, Berman awed the audi- Charles Sabatino of the American Bar Association’s The New Mexico Supreme Court will hear the case on October 26, ence describing how she empow- 2015. C&C is committed to continuing a vibrant community presence ered herself to make informed The reason I’m doing so well is because my until terminally ill New Mexicans and their loved ones have the comfort healthcare decisions that allow her and reassurance of legally authorized aid in dying. Our physician to actively live her life —­ a vibrant decisions are being honored, and I am not outreach and public education initiatives continue during the appeal. life — with stage IV cancer. Her receiving care that would not help me. nursing background helps her Tennessee make care choices, but she cites quality of life as her Commission on Law and Aging discussing the trend C&C is providing litigation support in a suit filed in Davidson County “true north,” choosing the options that will help her toward consumer-directed advance planning. Chancery Court on behalf of John Jay Hooker, a two-time gubernatorial “live until I can’t.” She feels healthy and strong, works, nominee who has terminal metastatic cancer, and three physicians and travels. The next scheduled lunch briefing features U.S. who want to provide the option of medical aid in dying to terminally Senator Mark Warner of Virginia, co-sponsor of the ill adults. The suit urged the judge to declare that the state constitution “The reason I’m doing so well is because my deci- Care Planning Act of 2015. The Campaign is ramping and existing state law allow medical aid in dying. The case was dismissed on September 29, 2015, and counsel is reviewing options for an appeal. John Jay Hooker and Kevin Díaz at the sions are being honored, and I am not receiving care up its efforts in Washington, finding growing support Tennesse courthouse that would not help me,” Berman said. The Campaign in the federal health policy community and on to End UMT is honored to partner with Berman as Capitol Hill. Follow its progress at EndUMT.org. Learn more about our legal initiatives by visiting CompassionAndChoices.org/courts

>> To watch Amy’s presentation, visit EndUMT.org.

18 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 19 national programs update

Doctors for Dignity Take Legal Action C&C Seeks to Strengthen Medicare Proposal to Dr. Lynette Cederquist, a practicing physician in Pay Doctors for End-of-Life Care Conversations La Jolla, Calif., is taking her expertise to court to improve end-of-life options in California. In May, When the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services their treatment options, recognize the need to plan Compassion & Choices filed a lawsuit on behalf of (CMS) asked for public comments on its proposal to ahead for the care they choose, avoid unwanted Dr. Cederquist and three Californians with terminal or make doctor-patient conversations about advance medical treatment and better ensure their end-of-life advanced diseases that would protect physicians who care planning a separate, reimbursable service under healthcare wishes are carried out if they are unable honor a patient’s request for medical aid in dying. Medicare, C&C offered two key recommendations to speak for themselves.” The CMS policy changes to improve the plan. First, the initial conversation would take effect in 2016. “As a physician who has spent the last 20 years with a patient regarding their treatment preferences caring for terminally ill patients, I’ve seen many cases should take place during the standard “Welcome to In the legislative arena, reimbursement is also central where suffering was unnecessarily prolonged that Medicare” visit so these conversations can happen to the Care Planning Act of 2015, sponsored by U.S. could have been alleviated if people had more options before diagnosis of a terminal illness. Second, CMS Senators Mark Warner (D-VA) and Johnny Isakson at the end of their lives,” she said. Dr. Cederquist should give physicians the flexibility and autonomy (R-GA), which Compassion & Choices supports. This was named “Top Doctor” by the San Diego County to engage in additional conversations as needed: at bipartisan bill would create a Medicare benefit for least once a year as part of a patient’s annual medical people facing grave illness to work with their doctor Medical Society six of the last nine years. She is Lynette Cederquist, MD board certified in internal medicine with additional review, and more often if necessary given each indi- to define, articulate and document their personal board certification in hospice and palliative medicine. vidual patient’s unique disease diagnosis, prognosis goals for treatment. She has been a member of the San Diego County Interested in becoming a doctor for dignity? and trajectory. Medical Society since 2006. Learn more at CompassionAndChoices.org/doctors. You can send a letter urging your member In submitting these suggestions, Compassion & of Congress to pass the Care Planning Act of Choices Chief Program Officer Kim Callinan wrote: 2015 by visiting CompassionAndChoices.org/ “These conversations can help patients understand careplanningact.

C&C Hosts White House Conference on Aging Watch Party Welcome, Sarah Brownstein! medical symposiums and other large forums. Sarah The former White House the issues facing older Americans for the next decade, comes to C&C with extensive legislative knowledge, correspondent for Gannett including caring for older loved ones. Compassion & Choices is delighted to introduce having most recently worked as a policy analyst and News Service, Deborah our new national volunteer manager, Sarah Brown- legislative aide to a Texas state senator. Sarah joined Mathis, spoke at a Compas- In that spirit, the Obama administration launched stein. This summer, our dedicated volunteer base C&C for several reasons: “Professionally, I have sion & Choices watch party Aging.gov to help older Americans and their families, reached a staggering number, surpassing 3,000 always prioritized work that has a broad and positive in Washington, D.C., during friends, and caregivers find local services and resources volunteers nationwide. From advocating for pending impact. Personally, I have aging parents, one of whom the July White House Con- in their communities, such as long-term care. bills to speaking with community members about has multiple sclerosis and lives in a state where there ference on Aging hosted end-of-life issues, volunteers fuel Compassion & are no legal protections for aid in dying. Her situation Deborah Mathis by President Obama. Aging.gov complements Compassion & Choices’ Choices’ success. puts this issue in perspective, and gives an urgency End-of-Life Information Center (CompassionAnd- and timeliness to the work.” This year marks the 50th anniversary of Medicare, Choices.org/information). This one-stop locale for Sarah will recruit, train and deploy volunteers for Medicaid and the Older Americans Act, and the advance healthcare planning, end-of-life information Compassion & Choices. She will also build C&C’s It’s easy and rewarding to become a volunteer: 80th anniversary of Social Security. The conference and forms features our Good-to-Go Toolkit and the National Speakers Bureau, a new initiative to increase email [email protected] or recognized the importance of these programs and dementia provision, which are exclusive to C&C. our outreach and impact at national conferences, call us at 800.247.7421.

20 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 21 national programs update

C&C Hires Three Senior Staffers Crucial Planning Made Easy Compassion & Choices has successfully recruited three Compassion & Choices is pleased to share the newest talented senior staff members to help the organization addition to CompassionAndChoices.org … our meet its rapidly expanding agenda of end-of-life issues. End-of-Life Information Center! It’s your one-stop advance healthcare planning resource. You will find extensive material to share your end-of-life priorities Nicholas Simmonds, previously She works collaboratively with the with your physician and family, including our Good- CEO/president of Providence organizational management team to-Go Guide and Toolkit, downloadable state-by-state Health Foundation, signed on to develop the vision, set the advance directives, dementia provision, advocacy as chief external affairs officer. strategic program priorities, and materials, and more. direct the design and manage- He oversees all development, ment of all C&C programming. marketing and communications That includes overseeing 1) the Visit and explore this valuable resource today CompassionAndChoices.org/information from C&C’s Washington, D.C., development of C&C’s federal at . office. Simmonds is a former policy agenda and C&C’s involve- As always, you can also request information by president of the Washington, ment in the Campaign to End calling 800.247.7421. D.C., Metro Chapter of Associa- Unwanted Medical Treatment, 2) tion of Fundraising Professionals C&C’s political and field teams, (AFP), was named its Outstanding 3) the strategic direction of C&C’s Fundraising Professional in 2007 innovative legal advocacy and 4) and led a program that won the the End of Life Resource Center. Campbell & Company AFP Award for Excellence in Fundraising “I look forward to leveraging in 2001. C&C’s powerful network of more Remembering a Gentle Hero than 500,000 supporters with the “I want to help Compassion & ultimate goal of implementing Compassion & Choices honors the noble life and Choices expand its reach and policies to ensure that patients benevolent work of EOLC consultant Mark Ferguson. engage new audiences to match get the medical care that they top to bottom: Nick Simmonds, Mark died of cancer on August 21, 2015, peacefully Kim Callinan, Corrine A. Carey the demand for autonomy at the want at the end of their life —­ at home with his husband, Fred Beal, their four dogs, end of life,” said Simmonds. nothing more and nothing less,” his brother Don and a hospice nurse by his side. said Callinan. “The forthright support our consultants give dying Kimberly Callinan, most recently death with dignity in Albany. State people and their loved ones forms the roots from general manager and senior vice Corinne A. Carey, former assis- Senators Diane Savino (IDC), Brad which all our other work grows. Principles of human president of health communica- tant legislative director for the Hoylman (D) and John Bonacic dignity, self-determination and nonabandonment tions and programming at IQ New York Civil Liberties Union, (R), and Assemblymembers Amy rise from these roots to spread through every part Solutions, where she managed a was hired as C&C’s New York Paulin (D) and Linda Rosenthal (D) of C&C. Mark’s work fed the trunk, branches and 125-person team that worked state campaign director. She will have all introduced bills this year. leaves of our own giving tree,” said President Barbara across the Department of Health lead the organization’s advocacy Coombs Lee. “He did this daily, quietly, without and Human Services, and a former campaign for death-with-dignity “As we connect with voters, ad- fanfare or angst.” executive director of the Maryland legislation in the state. vocates and legislators, I’m con- Democratic Party is C&C’s new chief fident that New York will become Mark’s brave and compassionate spirit lives on in his program officer, also in C&C’s Her hiring coincides with unprec- the next state to authorize death colleagues, C&C volunteers and all who are devoted D.C. office. edented bipartisan progress on with dignity,” said Carey. to easing the suffering of others.

22 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 Advocacy in Action

How Brittany Maynard Changed the Landscape: C&C California Political Director Charmaine Mansala Death-With-Dignity Bills Spread Across the States takes her turn beside other citizens voicing support “Brittany’s Momma,” Debbie Ziegler, speaking at a California press conference for death with dignity in Sacramento

above: The now-iconic image of Brittany Maynard from 2013, before her cancer diagnosis right: Brittany’s widower, Dan Diaz, testifying in the California legislature

It is impossible to talk about the transformative To mark the one-year anniversary of her first video, time she had remaining, she would work to enact A YEAR AGO THIS OCTOBER … campaign that 29-year-old Brittany Maynard C&C issued a new video on October 6 with footage death-with-dignity laws across the country. C&C’s campaign with Brittany Maynard started with a launched without first talking about the rare privilege of Brittany Maynard the public had not yet seen. video that went viral in October 2014. C&C commemo- it was to know her. No one at Compassion & Choices There is also a series of face-to-face events for Brittany always said she could never have made it to rated the anniversary with a new video featuring will ever be the same, inspired as they were by activists to lobby lawmakers for state-level aid in Oregon without the love and support of her husband, never-before-seen footage of Brittany and a series Brittany’s wisdom and generosity. C&C’s campaigns dying laws and local resolutions supporting them. Dan Diaz, and mother, Debbie Ziegler. Before she of events across the country urging legislative action to pass death-with-dignity laws will never be the Supporters are also writing letters-to-the-editor and died, she asked them to continue her campaign on death-with-dignity bills. Watch Brittany Maynard’s same, either. On what would have been Brittany’s sharing with their online networks about Brittany — and they have. Dan, Debbie and other family 30th birthday, November 19, 2014, C&C issued its and her family’s unyielding commitment to make members focused their efforts on legislation in commemorative video at TheBrittanyFund.org nationwide call to make aid in dying available to death with dignity an option in every state. California. Both appeared alongside the lawmakers residents of every state. One year later, the progress introducing California’s End of Life Option Act at is astounding: aid-in-dying legislation passed in After being diagnosed with terminal brain cancer and Sacramento press conferences. Both testified, spoke the second state, after Vermont, to originate, debate California and has been introduced in 26 states plus researching her treatment options, Brittany Maynard at organizing events and talked with the media and pass a death-with-dignity law in the legislature. the District of Columbia, with more than 215 elected made the decision to relocate from California to numerous times. And both were there on the historic Now the 12 percent of Americans who live in California lawmakers as primary or co-sponsors. Oregon so that she could access its Death With day in September when the full legislature passed will have the peace of mind that access to aid in Dignity Act. Believing that no one should have to go the bill during a special session. Two weeks later, the dying provides. C&C is commemorating that campaign with a series to such lengths to access a medical option everyone bill was transmitted to Governor Jerry Brown, who of activities that elevate the issue in the media and deserves, Brittany contacted C&C the summer signed it into law on October 5. The significance >> See page 6 to read more about our California keep legislative progress moving in the states. before she died and offered her partnership. In what of the bill’s passage is profound. It makes California victory.

24 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 25 advocacy in action NH VT NH See the map for the status of your state! VT C&C needs citizen lobbyists to meet with state lawmakers, organize grassroots support in their MA own communities, and write to legislators and MA NH VT RI media outlets expressing their support – and RI CT demand – for more end-of-life options. CT NJ NJ TO GET INVOLVED… DE MA DE MD Visit us at: MD RI CompassionAndChoices.org/get-involved DC DC CT Send us an email: The sticker worn by dozens of C&C activists attending a hearing * in the New Jersey legislature * NJ [email protected] DE Send a letter to your local lawmaker at: MD CompassionAndChoices.org/state-action-center DC Connect online: DID YOU KNOW * Like us on Facebook and C&C also protects access to aid in dying in states where follow us on Twitter @compandchoices it is authorized. C&C is actively working with medical communities and conducting public education to expand or Call: 800.247.7421 access in Oregon, Washington, Montana, New Mexico, Vermont and now California.

* A decision overturning the authorization of aid in dying is under appeal in New Mexico.

Aid in Dying Authorized The family’s availability for high-profile media inter- one vote shy of passing the Senate on its first try. written down in a newspaper op-ed, delivered in C&C Campaigns Underway views and low-profile lobbying across the country C&C also dispatched staffers to Wyoming and legislative testimony or shared at a community has had immeasurable impact on progress in other to testify and support legislative efforts. event, these stories educate lawmakers and help Organized Grassroots Initiatives Rhode Island states, too. Here are a few highlights. An aid-in-dying them understand the urgent need to pass death- C&C Staff Locations bill passed the New Jersey Assembly on a bipartisan This year, C&C is expanding into several additional with-dignity laws now. States with Aid-in-Dying Bills in the Legislature in 2015 vote 12 days after Brittany’s death, and C&C is now states, including Delaware, Florida, Hawaii, Illinois, States with Legislative Action in 2015 shepherding it through the Senate. A new bill in Iowa, Maine, Minnesota, New Hampshire and New York is on track to its first hearing (see State Pennsylvania even as campaigns continue in Spotlight story on page 30). Fifty legislators signed Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, New A packed hearing room where Maine’s Health & Human Services Committee heard testimony on aid-in-dying legislation on to co-sponsor a death-with-dignity bill in Mary- Jersey, Maryland, Colorado and the District of land, where hearings were held in both the Senate Columbia. and the House of Delegates for The Richard E. Israel and Roger “Pip” Moyer Death With Dignity Act, So much of this progress is thanks to the women and which comes back before the legislature this winter. men across the country who were inspired by Brittany Montana’s five-year-oldBaxter ruling authorizing to come out and tell their stories … people facing medical aid in dying survived three legislative efforts their own fears about how they might die from to repeal or erode it, thanks to bipartisan support. cancer that riddles their bodies, people who have Vermont’s two-year-old aid-in-dying law survived seen loved ones die peacefully using aid in dying, repeal efforts and became permanent. C&C sprang and those who have witnessed painful, drawn-out Delegate Shane Pendergrass, sponsor of Maryland’s death-with-dignity bill in the House, speaks at a press conference into action in Maine where a bill ultimately fell just deaths where aid in dying is not available. Whether

26 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 27 advocacy in action

How Death-With-Dignity Bills Become ++++++ A Case Study From Vermont FEBRUARY – H.274 and S.103, both An Act Relating to Patient Choice Law: 2011 and Control at the End of Life, are introduced in the Vermont House It was 18 years from the time an early version of what became Vermont’s death-with- and Senate respectively; neither advance. dignity law was first introduced to its enactment. This timeline offers a snapshot of the often-lengthy legislative process by which residents of a state come to have access —­ ++++++ and preserve access — to this compassionate end-of-life option. JANUARY – Senate Health and Welfare Committee holds a public 2013 hearing on S.77, the Patient Choice at the End of Life Act, in the well The first death-with-dignity bill in Vermont was introduced 20 years of the House. 1995... ago. House Bill 335, The Rights of Terminally Ill Patients, was intro- duced in 1995, and again in 1997 (H.109) and 1999 (H.493). FEBRUARY – S.77 is introduced in the Vermont Senate, followed by three readings and four roll-call votes. There is one reading of the bill ++++++ in the House.

MAY – 78 Vermont lawmakers ask their Legislative Council to examine APRIL – There are two readings and five roll call votes in the House. 2004 the Oregon Death With Dignity Act and report findings to the legislature. VICTORY! MAY – S. 77 passes the Vermont House and the Senate, and is sent to DECEMBER – The Vermont Legislative Council publishes a report VT DWD bill the governor after one reading and seven roll-call votes in the House, becomes law detailing the positive outcomes and efficacy of Oregon’s Death With and four roll-call votes in the Senate. Governor Peter Shumlin signs Dignity Act. the Patient Choice at the End of Life Act (now officially Act 39) into law, making Vermont the first state to authorize medical aid in ++++++ dying through the legislative process.

JANUARY – H.44 and S.63, both An Act Relating to Patient Choice ++++++ 2007 and Control at the End of Life, are introduced in the Vermont House and Senate respectively; fizzles in the Senate but gets a House hearing OCTOBER – After battling cancer, Annette Vachon becomes the first and vote. 2014 Vermonter to self-administer aid-in-dying medication as authorized by Act 39. MARCH – H.44 was defeated 82 to 63 in a House floor vote following successful committee votes. ++++++

++++++ MARCH – The Vermont Senate votes down proposal to repeal Act 39; 2015 makes permanent some protections originally scheduled to sunset in 2016. APRIL – S.144 and H.455, both An Act Relating to Patient Choice 2009 and Control at the End of Life, are introduced in the Vermont Senate APRIL – The Vermont House votes down efforts to repeal Act 39; makes and House respectively; both go nowhere. permanent some protections originally scheduled to sunset in 2016.

++++++ MAY – Governor Peter Shumlin signs the revisions to Act 39, Patient Choice and Control at End of Life Act, into law making some OCTOBER – Democratic gubernatorial candidate Peter Shumlin promises protections permanent. 2010 to make signing a death-with-dignity law a top priority as governor.

28 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 29 state spotlight Annual Report 2015

New York

C&C is harnessing popular demand for expanded WHAT A YEAR! end-of-life freedom and reaping results in the Empire State. Within months of launching a campaign for death with dignity in all 50 states on November 19, Decades of dedicated work 2014, three separate bills authorizing aid in dying were introduced in the New York legislature. C&C is mobilizing around the New York End of Life Options paid great dividends through- Act sponsored by Senator Diane Savino, an indepen- dent Democrat from Staten Island. As Savino and her team develop a unified legislative strategy, C&C is out 2015. With your support, working in the Capitol and across the state to secure the votes to pass the bill. caught C&C rallied 21 supporters for a Lobby Day in Albany C&C’s citizen lobbyists pose with State Senator Diane Savino (center Compassion & Choices with red coat), sponsor of the New York End of Life Options Act, in May, meeting with 18 legislators and identifying between visits with other legislators in the Capitol on May 13, 2015 more co-sponsors for an Assembly bill. C&C’s the nation’s attention like never aggressive media strategy includes placing op-eds in key outlets. One standout was Amanda Avery’s piece in the Albany Times Union describing the death of In August, C&C’s New York campaign director came before, generating a surge of her 29-year-old partner, Chrissi, to cancer. Also pow- on board. Corinne Carey’s extensive experience erful was Reverend Paul Smith writing in the Brooklyn working on civil rights and healthcare issues in Eagle that counseling and comforting dying people Albany allowed her to hit the ground running. informs his advocacy for death with dignity: “When momentum that propelled the dying persons have alternatives — a final measure If you live in New York —­ or any state — go to of control — they feel a sense of comfort and peace CompassionAndChoices.org/state-action-center that allows them to truly live during their last days. for an easy tool to send an email directly to your end-of-life choice movement This is the greatest gift we can grant our dying state representatives telling them you support friends and loved ones.” death with dignity. to new heights. Read on to see what we have achieved.

30 COMPASSION & CHOICES MAGAZINE / FALL 2015 Annual Report annual report

states now authorize aid in dying:

Oregon, Washington, Montana, 2015 Vermont and California. A decision 26+ overturning the authorization of aid states plus D.C. considered aid-in-dying laws: Dr. in dying is under appeal in the New Robert Olvera, an East Los Angeles physician who Mexico Supreme Court. lost his 25-year-old daughter Emily Rose to leukemia in April, joined C&C to help pass the End of Life Option Act in California. His family’s experience 5 convinced him that terminally ill people need the Dr. Olvera holding a photo of his daughter Emily option of a gentle death on their own terms. at a Sacramento press conference 217 lawmakers sponsored or co-sponsored aid-in-dying bills: Wyoming Represen- tative Daniel Zwonitzer, (R-Cheyenne), learned from working in the auction and estate sale business that too many terminally ill people in Wyoming take their lives violently, such as with a gun. The death-with-dignity bill he sponsored 500% is under interim study. increase in media coverage: Prolific and outspoken champions of the right Rep. Daniel Zwonitzer to aid in dying such as Brittany Maynard, Christy O’Donnell, Barbara Mancini and Jennifer Glass appeared on magazine covers, talk shows and the web, sharing their painful stories to bring attention 3,000+ to the issue and motivate supporters. volunteers now fill C&C’s ranks: Barbara Davis of Newark brings a news clip to Oprah Winfrey interviews Dan Diaz, Brittany Maynard’s widower, for her show legislators during New Jersey Oprah Winfrey Network program, “Where Are They Now?” Lobby Week.

32 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 33 Annual Report annual report

500,000 2015 C&C has amassed nearly half a million supporters: Tennessee civil rights champion John Jay Hooker, suffering from stage 4 metastatic cancer, part- nered with C&C to take his plea for end-of-life autonomy to the courtroom. “It is the ultimate civil right,” Hooker said, “to be able to die with dignity, while you still have some choice in The number of people served by the matter.” C&C’sx2 End-of-Life Consultation Service doubled: Aris T. Allen Jr. — son of the 1,000% John Jay Hooker at the Memphis courthouse first African-American chair of the Mary- +increase in traffic to CompassionAnd- land Republican party, who ended his 74% life violently after contracting terminal Choices.org and over one million visitors polled in a Harris survey of Americans to the website TheBrittanyFund.org, last November agreed that: “Individuals cancer in 1991 —­ recalls how frank talks which C&C launched for our campaign who are terminally ill, in great pain and about end-of-life preferences eased with Brittany Maynard. who have no chance for recovery have sorrow after his father’s death. “I would the right to choose to end their own life.” recommend that everyone have ‘the Support cut across all generations and conversation’ and talk with their loved educational groups, both genders, and ones about what they want and don’t even political affiliation. want, as well as complete an advance directive so their wishes are known.”

In collaboration with with 18 organizations, the Campaign to End Unwanted Medical Treatment published a collection of five policy briefs written by experts at the 256% National Academy of Social Insurance. increase in Faceook fans, putting our The briefs provide useful insight into issues messages in front of an ever-broader around advance care planning and end-of- audience on the preeminent social 5 life healthcare. Aris T. Allen Jr. standing with his father’s statue media network.

34 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 35 Annual Report annual report

Combined Statement of Financial Position Combined Statement of Activities & Changes in Net Assets June 30, 2015 For the Year Ended June 30, 2015

ASSETS Revenue and Other Support: 2015 Contributions 15,373,419 Current Assets: Membership fees 207,355 Cash and cash equivalents: Foundation Revenue 135,000 Operating 2,037,237 Investment income, net of expenses 389,624 Investments 2,588,649 Realized and unrealized loss on investments (261,571) Pledges receivable-current portion 2,621,000 Other Income 525,589 Investments 16,219,146 Prepaid expenses 147,429 Total revenue and other support 16,369,416 Beneficial interest in charitable remainder trusts 168,984 Other current assets 7,421 Expenses: Total current assets 23,789,866 Programs 12,849,683 General and administrative 1,836,558 Fundraising 1,012,582 Property, Equipment and Improvements, at Cost: Total expenses 15,698,823 Furniture, fixtures and equipment 456,744 Leasehold improvements 62,446 Increase in net assets 670,593 519,190 Less accumulated depreciation and amortization 315,671 Net Assets: Total net assets, beginning, 22,202,290 Total property, equipment and improvements 203,519 Net assets, ending 22,872,883 Other Assets: Pledges receivable net of current portion 137,000 Intangible assets 15,764 Deposits 30,875 Total other assets 183,639 TOTAL ASSETS 24,177,024

Costs for the Year Ending June 30, 2015: LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS Current Liabilities: Current portion of obligations under capital leases 14,717 Accounts payable 456,899 PROGRAM COSTS ALL COSTS Accrued payroll and vacation 340,677 Accrued expenses 1,500 Total current liabilities 813,793

Long-term Liabilities: Gift annuity payments due 490,348 Total long-term liabilities 490,348 Total liabilities 1,304,141

Net Assets: Unrestricted: Operating 22,686,452 Net investments in property, equipment and improvements 186,431 Total net assets 22,872,883 TOTAL LIABILITIES AND NET ASSETS 24,177,024

36 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 37 Annual Report

annual report

Board of Directors Thank You to All Our Donors Compassion & Choices is always profoundly grateful to the many thousands of donors who give so generously to our mission. In 2015, we received over 57,000 donations ranging from $1 to grants in the 2015 millions. Each and every gift is vital to our success ­— and future. While space limitations only allow us to list donors of $1,000 or more here, Compassion & Choices appreciates every single gift we receive. Through your commitment to our work, you provide a solid foundation on which to build going forward. Totals are for gifts made in FY 2015 (July 1, 2014 – June 30, 2015) * Deceased Nancy Hoyt Claire Jacobus Jaren Ducker Karen Pye, MPH Betsy Van Dorn Chair Vice Chair Treasurer Secretary Development Chair Circle of Choice Circle of Comfort Circle of Dignity ($50,000+) ($25,000+) ($15,000+) Anonymous (6) Anonymous (2) Anonymous (2) Mr. and Mrs. William Biggs Mr. Dan Busemeyer Ms. Evelyn Beekman Ms. Emily C. Bond* Richard A. Busemeyer Atheist The Barbara R. Bergmann Revocable Coon Revocable Family Trust* Foundation Trust, Hon. Barbara R. Bergmann, PhD* Earth and Humanity Foundation The Congdon Family Fund Mrs. Irma A. Bixby* Mr. and Mrs. Thomas E. Congdon Mr. Ronald Blum Rev. Dr. MTh, JD M.D. Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund Ignacio Castuera, David N. Cook, Debbi Gibbs Charlie Hamlin, Stephen Hut Ms. Friedericka A. Dalbey* Lisa and Douglas Goldman Fund The John G. Bolos Charitable Gift Fund Denver Foundation Dr. Robert Holzapfel Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Dipaolo Doctors Norman C. and Mr. and Mrs. Joseph F. Horning Donors Trust Gilda M. Greenberg Patricia Stryker Joseph The H. B. B. Foundation Head Family Charitable Foundation The Kate Cashel Fund of the Dr. Virginia Kanick Ms. Kathryn Head Community Foundation for the Ms. Elizabeth T. Kirkpatrick Jewish Community Federation and Greater Capital Region Kenneth and Frayda Levy Endowment Fund Mrs. Jan Perry Mayer Ms. Linda M. Lutes Ms. Barbara J. Meislin Open Society Institute Ms. Lynne R. Malina Samantha Sandler Sharon Shaffer Thomas J. White, PhD Irene Wurtzel Ms. Jane Orans Raymond James Charitable Mrs. Margot Mazeau Endowment Fund Ms. Margot Copeland Pyle Dr. Thomas M. Neal Ex-Officio Members San Francisco Foundation Ms. Jerri Lea Shaw and Mr. Raymond H. Johnson Mr. and Mrs. Aryieh Neier Samantha B. and Mark J. Sandler Margaret L. Stevens Foundation The Quinette Family Fund Schwab Charitable Fund Mrs. Margaret L. Stevens Clinton H. and Wilma T. Shattuck Ms. Louise M. Stoney Walter Van Dorn and Charitable Trust Stupski Foundation Betsy Nimitz Van Dorn William B. Wiener Jr. Foundation Mrs. Joyce L. Stupski Mr. Frank W. Wells* Mr. William Wiener Richard Arthur Unger Trust Vanguard Charitable Endowment Barbara Coombs Lee Marcia Campbell Mickey MacIntyre PA, FNP, JD, President CPA, CFO Chief Strategic Officer Ms. Merla Zellerbach* and Mr. Lee Munson Ms. Min Zidell

38 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 39 Annual Report annual report

Circle of Care The Deikel Family Foundation Mr. Daniel S. Grossman Ms. Ann K. Laurilliard JaMel and Tom Perkins Family Dr. and Mrs. Robert V. Stachnik Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Deikel Gruber Family Foundation Mr. Steven U. Leitner Foundation Fund, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan Stanley Global Impact ($5,000+) Thomas Perkins Denison Family fund of the Mrs. Celeste C. Grynberg Ms. Maryel F. Locke Funding Trust Inc.

Oregon Community Foundation Ms. Sue Perkins 2015 Anonymous (7) Mr. and Mrs. William Guensche Mr. and Mrs. Harold Logan Ms. Joan Staple Ms. Harriet Denison Dr. Joseph G. Perpich and Mr. Scott Adams Leo S. Guthman Fund Ms. Shirley J. Lynn Mr. Richard Strachan Hester K. Diamond Ms. Cathy J. Sulzberger Ms. Sophie Alweis and Ms. Joan Haberman Mrs. Tina MacIntyre Dr. and Mrs. Daniel W. Stroock Mr. Lance Grebner Mary and Bob Dodge Mr. Benjamin L. Pick Ms. Kathleen Hagen Mr. and Ms. John P. McBride Ms. Christine Suppes American Endowment Foundation Ray and Dagmar Dolby Family Fund Ms. Catherine H. Podell Dr. and Mrs. Charles Hamlin Ms. Joan C. McCormick Ms. Barbara Swartz* Arkay Foundation Mrs. Dagmar Dolby Ravida K. Preston* Mrs. Francis W. Hatch & Neil and Amelia McDaniel Ms. Roselyne C. Swig Jaren and Bruce Ducker Mr. and Mrs. Laurence A. Price AYCO Charitable Foundation Mr. Whitney Hatch Charitable Trust Tapper Charitable Foundation Mrs. Constance G. Eagle Princeton Area Community Mr. L. E. Bassler Hawksglen Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Rick McDonald The Thompson Family Foundation Inc. The Eccola Foundation Trust Foundation, Inc. Ms. Nancy Belcher Mr. Jim Heerwagen The Katherine K. & Henry R. McLean Ms. Angela Thompson Mr. Bill Falik and Ms. Diana Cohen Ruth C. Putter Revocable Trust The Benevity Community Impact Fund Mr. Merrit Heminway Charitable Trust* U.S. Charitable Gift Trust Zalec Familian & Lilian Levinson Karen and David Pye Ms. Eloise Bouye Ms. Tamisie Honey Jerome Medalie Esq. and H. van Ameringen Foundation Foundation Ms. Beth Lowd Ms. Judith Queen Mr. Henry van Ameringen Hon. Sen. Bill Bradley and Mr. David Hopkins Dr. Betty Sue Flowers Mr. Edward J. Filer* Ms. Gurdon H. Metz Mr. and Mrs. Joe L. Randles* Vradenburg Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Robert Hoyt Dr. Ernestine Schlant Bradley Ms. Evelyn Findl* Mr. Christian Folger Miller Arthur and Toni Rembe Rock Mr. and Mrs. George A. Vradenburg Humanist Fund Ms. Barbara K. Brown FJC The Max Minsky & Florence Minsky Rhino Digital Mrs. Pam Wald Ms. Arlene Inch Mrs. Erika Brunson Ms. Linda Flanagan Goldstein Family Foundation Ms. Carey Roberts Dr. Lucy R. Waletzky J. B. S. International Dr. and Mrs. Dixon Butler Ms. Helen W. Ford* Dr. Robert I. Misbin and Mr. and Mrs. William M. Rosen Mr. Dougin Walker and Claire R. and David P. Jacobus Ms. Audrey Pendergast Ms. Elizabeth H. Bromley Mr. and Mrs. Oliver Cameron Foundation Source Mrs. Ritta G. Rosenberg Penny Jar Charitable Funding James Starr Moore The Wechsler Foundation, Inc. Mr. William J. Charlton Ms. Barbara L. Franjevic Mrs. Lynne G. Rosenthal Jewish Federation Memorial Foundation Weeden Foundation Ms. Kathleen Cheevers Susan and Peter Friedes Mr. and Mrs. Howard Rossman of Metropolitan Chicago Ms. Sandra Jo Moss Friedman Family Foundation Harold Rubenstein Family Mr. and Mrs. David Wegmann Mr. David Chelimer Jewish Community Foundation Ms. Valerie Friedman and The Community Foundation for the Charitable Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Robert C. Weiss Chicago Community Trust San Diego National Capital Region Mr. Frank Adams The Shelley & Donald Rubin Ms. Ellen Westheimer Chicago End-of-Life Care Coalition Jewish Communal Fund Thomas M. Neal Foundation Trust Mr. and Mrs. Robert Friese Foundation Inc., Mr. and Mrs. Dr. George B. Whatley* Louis R. Cohen Esq. and Ms. Lindsay Joost Dr. Leslie C. Newman Donald Rubin Mr. David J. Froba Dr. Thomas J. White The Hon. Bonnie R. Cohen Kaplen Brothers Fund Mrs. Sally Y. Froelich Noble Foundation Mr. Gerald E. Rupp Mr. Donald A. Collins and Mr. Alexander Kaplen Ms. Doris White* Ms. Nancy J. Novick* Sandler Foundation of the Jewish Mrs. Sarah Gamble Epstein Mr. Gordon Gamm Mrs. Daphne Tewksbury Whitman Kautz Family Foundation Community Endowment Fund, Ms. Rebecca Gaples Prof. and Mrs. Roger Nussbaum Mr. and Mrs. Edward Connors Mr. and Mrs. Terry R. Kay Mr. Herbert Sandler Walter G. Wiederkerr Estate Richard P. Garmany Fund of The Mr. Stephen K. Oka and Mr. David Corkery Ms. Ginni Keith Alice and Thomas Schelling Mrs. Diane Dow Wilsey Hartford Foundation for Public Giving Ms. Candace E. Walker Ms. Joan Walkup Corrigan Ms. Susan M. Kennedy Ms. Lois Schnitzer Mrs. Susan N. Wilson Ms. Debbi Gibbs Oregon Jewish Community Foundation Ms. Cora Sue Cronemeyer Ms. Wendy Keys Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Schoenberg Mary Wohlford Foundation Mrs. Phyllis M. Girvetz Oregon Community Foundation Prof. K. Patricia Cross Ms. Margaretta C. Kildebeck Dr. and Mrs. Wagner Schorr Mrs. Anita Wornick Mr. and Mrs. John Goldman Mr. Michael and Mrs. Ann Parker Mr. and Mrs. Terry Dale Dr. and Mrs. Samuel C. Klagsbrun Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Schwab Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. Wright Mr. and Mrs. Brad Gordon The Paulus Foundation The Darwin Foundation Kovler Family Foundation Prof. Oliver Shanks The Wyss Foundation Mr. Lance Grebner and Ms. Marian Penn Davies/Weeden Fund Mr. Peter and Dr. Judy Kovler Mrs. Judith Wyss Ms. Sophie Alweis Mr. Arthur R. Silverberg Mrs. Karen Dean Ms. Marjorie Kundiger*

40 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 41 Annual Report annual report

Circle of Love Ms. Nancy Davies Mr. Rob Nimmo and Ms. Linda Jensen Mr. Matthew Nelson and Mr. and Mrs. Charles J. Swindells Ms. Sally V. Allen ($2,500+) Ms. Sally Davis and Community Foundation of New Jersey Mr. Kip Beardsley Ms. Margaret Taliaferro Mr. Bill Anderson Mr. Stephen C Birdlebough Samuel S. Johnson Foundation Nussbaum Charitable Trust Mr. and Mrs. Tad Taube Ms. Penny Andrews 2015 Anonymous (3) Mr. and Mrs. Henry F. Davis Ms. Deborah Perry and Mr. Thomas R. Oliver Taube Philanthropies Mrs. Patricia Vaughn Angell Ms. Joann W. Aalfs Ms. Shirley Ross Davis Mr. William Kanarek Mr. and Mrs. Bernard Osher Mr. Vo Tran Ms. Patricia Angell Dr. and Mrs. Henry J. Aaron Dr. Andrew Griswold Dean Ms. Naneen Karraker Bernard A. Osher Trust United Health Group Mrs. Beth L. Armsey Mr. and Mrs. Peter Adams Hon. John O. Despres and Ms. Sara Katz Mr. Jonathan Palan Mr. Jorge A. Uribe Dr. George E. Arnstein Mrs. Despres Adams Legacy Foundation Ms. Helen A. Kay People Magazine Mrs. Marcia S. Vincent Ms. Hilda Aronson Ms. Laurie T. Dewey Ms. Susan W. Agger Ms. Linda L. King The Jay and Rose Phillips Ms. Barbra D. Vogen Ms. Nancy Arseneault Pat and Jerry Dodson Family Foundation, Ms. Jeanne Ms. Catherine Alden Ms. Jane King Harvey and Leslie Wagner Foundation Ms. Nancy Ayres Mrs. Edgar Dresner Phillips and Mr. Walter Harris Mrs. George Venable Allen Mr. Mike Kittross Ms. Leslie K. Wagner Ms. Marianne Baldrica Ms. Carol J. Duvall Mr. Charles A. Pilgrim Mr. David Putzolu and Samuel & Francine Klagsbrun Mr. Stephen Weinroth Mr. Neil D. Baldwin Ms.Christine Armer Mr. and Mrs. Martin K. Eby Foundation Mr. and Mrs. William R. Poland Mrs. Arlene C. Weintraub Mr. and Mrs. Robert S. Ball The T. Rowe Price Program for Mrs. Bernadette Augustinack Ms. Delia F. Ehrlich Mr. Willis M. Kleinenbroich Weissman Family Foundation Charitable Giving Mr. and Mrs. Ned Bandler Nancy and Joachim Bechtle Foundation Lynda and Skip Everitt Mr. Timothy J. Lee Mr. Daniel M. Weissman Ramsay Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Hancock Banning II Mr. and Mrs. Joachim Bechtle Ms. Rachel Everitt Ms. Lillian Lessler Dr. and Mrs. Van Zandt Williams Raynie Foundation Mr. Steedman Bass Ms. Carolyn Belgrad Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC Mr. and Mrs. Peter Lindman Mr. John B. Winston, Esq. Ms. Joy Gail Raywid Ms. Nancy C. Bean Mr. Michael Berman Mr. and Mrs. William Fisher Oliver Living Trust Hon. Sen. Timothy Endicott Wirth and Mrs. Janet Reilly Ms. Pam Beardsley Mr. John Bernstein Mr. and Mrs. Charles La Follette Mr. Fred Levin and Mrs. Wren Devereux Winslow Wirth Mr. Mark M. Rich and Mr. Jim Beneventi The Brach Family Fund of the Mr. Morris F. Friedell Ms. Nancy Livingston Mr. Paul R. Q. Wolfson and Community Foundation of New Jersey Ms. Kathrin Engisch Mr. Neil W. Cohen Mr. Allan Berenstein Mr. and Mrs. Michael Peter Giannini Lynn and Jack Loacker Ms. Betsy Brach, Prof. Darshan Brach, Mr. and Mrs. Morton I. Rosen Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Bergman Dr. W. Charles and Dr. Gretchen Lobitz Mrs. Anne Robinson Woods Mr. Peter Brach, Dr. Tara Brach Mr. Ramon E. Gilsanz Ms. Barbara Rosenberg Ms. Charlene Zidell Berman Family Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Harvey W. Glasser Dr. and Mrs. Theodore Loewenthal Big Heart Pet Brands Mr. Saul Rosenthal Drs. Leonard and Jane Bernstein Mr. and Mrs. Terry Golden Mr. and Mrs. George H. Lohrer Mr. and Mrs. James Bready Mr. Donald R. Royer Capt. David Bernstein Ms. Margaret Goldman Mr. and Mrs. Johan L. Lotter Dr. and Mrs. Arthur M. Breipohl Mr. John Sampson and Circle of Hope Mr. John W. Berresford Dr. and Mrs. Herbert J. Louis Google Inc. Mrs. Sharon L. Litsky Ms. Toni Broaddus ($1,000+) Mr. and Mrs. Edward Betts Dr. Dwight Moore and Mr. and Mrs. Wesley A. Brown Jill and Brad Gordon Family Foundation San Antonio Area Foundation Ms. Marie MacWhyte Mr. and Ms. John J. Biggs Mr. Jeremy A Green and Mr. Peter Schaffer Anonymous (15) Mrs. Ruth Hale Buchanan Mr. Bruce Bittan and Ms. Yvonne M Adams Mr. B. Thomas Mansbach The Burch-Safford Foundation, Inc. Mr. Jay J. Scheldorf, Sr. Drs. Sophia and Marc F. Abramson Ms. Marina C. Crispo Ms. Dorothy D. Gregor The Mansbach Foundation Mr. Sherman Carll Vanguard Voyager Services Mrs. Margaret M. Ackerman Ms. Kathy Black Ms. Julie B. Harkins Ms. Victoria E Marone Mr. Robert C. Cheek Mr. Harlan Seymour Mr. Richard Adelaar Mrs. Audrey W. Bloch Ms. Harriet Hayes Mr. and Mrs. William C. McGehee Christoval Foundation Ms. Linda L. Le Shanna The Adelaar Foundation Blum-Kovler Foundation Col. and Mrs. Wayne Herkness II Medtronic Ms. Kate F. Coan and Mr. Russel Shon Adler Family Foundation Ms. Monique Bondeux and Mrs. Joyce D. Homan Mr. Jerome Meislin Mr. and Mrs. James Barron Adler Mr. Donald A. Hofmann The Byron T. Shutz Foundation Dr. Robin Petty Hot Pepper, Inc. Mrs. Alice P. Melly Ms. Ioe Adler Ms. Phoebe Cowles Mr. Daniel Stone Mr. and Mrs. Garrett Boone Mr. and Mrs. A. Stephen Hut Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Meyer Adler-Jarach Fund Mr. and Mrs. R. Dougal Crowe Dr. Howard Denison Stowe Christiane de Bord Ms. Marge L. Jackson Ms. Nina Miness Ms. Madelon S. Affeld Dr. Nancy S. Crumpacker and Doctors Michael and Molly Strauss Mr. and Mrs. James C. Borg Dr. Rick Bayer Ms. Susan Jacobson Rev. and Mrs. Frank H. Moss III Mr. Erwin J. Alexy Ms. Patricia A. Sullivan Boston Foundation Ms. Susan Cummings Ms. Morynne Motley

42 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 43 Annual Report annual report

The Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Bertram J. Cohn Dixon and Carol Doll Family Foundation Dr. Robert F. Foran and Ms. Anne W. Hammond Ms. Karen C. Ingwersen Boulder County Ms. Elizabeth Cole and Ms. Carol Doll Dr. Carole Foran Mr. Grant A. Hanessian and Ms. Jazzmyn Inisis Ms. Frances F. Bowes Mr. Peter Newman Ms. Anna Dombrowski Dr. Alexandra Fraser Ms. Anne Schwartz Mr. Edward N. Jacobson 2015 Ms. Caroline C. Bramhall Mr. David M. Collins and Ms. Judith Don and Dr. Ralph Frerichs Mr. and Mrs. Earl K. Hanna Adler Jarach Fund of the Ms. Frish Brandt Ms. Stephanie Garber Mr. Mitch Bayersdorfer Mr. Sam Friedenberg and Dr. Maren Hansen Equity Foundation Sanford and Jane Brickner Mr. Brian Collins Ms. Debra Morgan Dooley Ms. Sandra Tetzloff Ms. Martha Hansen Ms. Margaret K. Jarvis Advised Fund of Santa Fe Ms. Anne Cooke Dopkin-Singer-Dannenberg Foundation Mrs. Laurel E. Friedman Ms. Jan S. Harden The JCT Foundation Community Foundation Mr. Richard Cotter Mr. Redmond L. Dougherty and Dr. Judith Friedman Mr. Leo Harris and Ms. Ann Simms Ms. Christina Jennings Bridgewood Fieldwater Foundation Mrs. Christina Doughtery Mr. Charles L. Courdy and Mr. and Mrs. Donny Friend Mr. and Mrs. David F. Hart Mr. and Mrs. Michael D. Johnson Mr. Burnett Britton Ms. Elaine Burdell Ms. Elizabeth L. Dovenbarger* Mr. Earl J. Funk Dr. and Mrs. Everett T. Hart Sharon Johnson Ms. Gertrude S Brown Phoebe Cowles Revocable Trust Mr. Robert B. Dowse Ms. Paula Gambs Mr. Phil Harvey Mrs. Cynthia C. Jones Dr. Carl Brownsberger Ms. Joan W. Cox Mr. Justin Draeger GE Foundation Ms. Gina Hattenbach Jones Family Trust Mr. Neal Buchalter The Coxhead California Rabbi George B. Driesen, JD and Cindy and Robert Gelber Mr. Eric Heit Mr. John H. Jordon* Ms. Susie Buell Charitable Fund Mrs. Sue Dreisen Hon. and Mrs. Henry Geller Mrs. Janet J. Hemming Mr. William B. Joy and Mr. Terry E. Burgess Mr. Michael Cross Miriam Dubin Ron & Catherine Gershman Foundation Ms. Laura Henderson Ms. Susanne Marie Stegmiller Ms. Dorothy H. Burnett Mr. Jay A. Dackman Mr. Jack O. Duncan Mr. and Mrs. Charles R. Gibbs Ms. Barbara L. Hennig Ms. Emily G. Kahn Ms. Katrina C. Bush Mrs. Laura Gardner Dale Dr. Linda E. Durham Ms. LaVeta Gibbs Ms. Carolen Herst Mr. Stephen S. Kaloyanides Mrs. Joann Bush Ms. Nan Dale Mr. Steffan Dye Mr. Dale H. Gieringer Mr. and Mrs. Harold Hestnes Ms. Marjorie L. Keely Ms. Julia Butters Ms. Arville Damner Dr. Dean Edell and Dr. Sharon Edell Mr. and Mrs. Arnold B. Glimcher Mr. and Mrs. William Hillig Dr. Vance C. Kennedy Ms. Pamela H Byatt Mr. John A. D’Angelo Mr. Jon B. Eisenberg and Mrs. Helen R. Golden Ms. Georgie M. Hitson Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Kinney Mrs. Margery Dannenberg Ms. Linda Hillel Mr. James Call and Leila and Steven M. Gompertz Ms. Nancy Kivelson Mr. Bob Ellis Mrs. Donald Hoagland Ms. Kris Conquergood Ms. Rachel Dardis Donor Advised Fund in Memory Mr. Raymond S. Hockedy Ms. Jody Kleinman Ms. Natalie B. Campbell Mr. and Mrs. Gerald Daugherty Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Engelhaupt of Michael Gompertz Ms. Jeannette B. Hofer Ms. Jan Ellen Kliger Dr. Phyllis and Mr. Joseph Caroff Ms. Jamini Vincent Davies Mr. Barry Ensminger Mr. Robert Gondelman Mr. Steven J. Hoffman Ms. Virginia M. Knapp Foundation for the Carolinas Mr. and Mrs. Richard S. Dawson Jr. Equity Foundation Mr. and Mrs. David M. Goodman Mr. Peter J. Holden Mr. and Mrs. Herbert S. Koch Mr. and Mrs. Richard Casey Mrs. Elizabeth Gretchen De Baubigny Ms. Lyn M. Erickson Ms. Lorraine Graves Grace* Ms. Nanci Hollas Drs. Jan and Diane Koch-Weser Mr. William R Cate Ms. Linda Van Winkle Deacon Ms. Lorre Erlick Greater Kansas City Janice and Maurice Holloway Ms. Blossom J. Krakauer* Mr. and Mrs. Ronald Cease Mrs. Zyla Deane Mr. Russell Ewert Community Foundation Ms. Barbara Shaw Holme Ms. Elise Kroeber Cedar Fund of the Princeton Mr. Edward E. Demartini Mr. and Mrs. James R. Falender Mr. Neal Green Mr. Steven Kronheim and Area Community Foundation Ms. Mary B. Fell Dr. Robert A. Greene and Mr. and Mrs. Irwin Holzman Mrs. Patricia Dennis Ms. Marcia Bond Mr. Rick Cermak Mr. and Mrs. Paul Filseth Mrs. Susan E. Presberg-Greene Mr. Jay Holzman Mr. Joseph T. Derry Mr. Carlton W. Laird Prof. Kathy L. Cerminara Mr. Roger W. Findley Ms. Linda Joyce Greenhouse Pam Woodley Household Mr. and Mrs. Lyle A. Dethlefsen Mr. and Mrs. Michael Lambert Mr. Robert Chambers Ms. Ruth Fischer and Mr. Richard Lugg Mr. Philip R. Gula Mr. Warren M. Howe and Dr. Patricia DeYoung Ms. Neuritsa Lancaster Mr. and Mrs. Mark D. Hagen Ms. Janet S. Karon Ms. Eleanor Chandler Shelia DiDonato Namm, RN, JD and Dodd and Nancy Fischer Ms. Linda Huber Mrs. Carol S. LaPierre Chicago Community Foundation Pietro DiDanato Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Fish The Jon L. Hagler Foundation Mr. George Hume Ms. Sylvia A. Law Mr. and Mrs. James E. Childs Mr. Richard E. Dillon Ms. Nolie Fishman Ms. Alice Wiley Hall and Mr. Peter Hall Mr. and Mrs. Donald F. Hunt Mr. and Mrs. William Lawrence Ms. Anne M. Clark Ms. Jennifer A. Dobbs Ms. Frannie Fleishhacker Ms. Bobbie Hallig Mr. Dan and Mrs. Irene Hunter Mr. Wesley Lawrence Mr. Robert T. Coffland Ms. Shirley Doell Mr. Stewart Florsheim and Mr. and Mrs. Roland L. Halpern Mr. and Mrs. Philip H. Ingber Ms. Esty D. Lawrie Ms. Carole A. Cohen Ms. Judith Rosloff Ms. Sigrid J. Hammond

44 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 45 Annual Report annual report

Ms. Tina Lear and Ms. Elena Terrone McConnell Family Fund Charitable Trust, Dr. and Mrs. Mr. Robert Petersen and Mr. Jonas Roever Dr. Herb Silverman and Mr. and Mrs. Gordon Leavitt Mr. John W. McDonald Arthur Nielsen Dr. Veronica Petersen Dr. and Mrs. Peter Rogatz Ms. Sharon Fratepietro Mrs. Maureen S. Lee Ms. Carolyn Mehran Mr. J. Christopher Nielsen Mr. and Mrs. Darold D. Peterson Mr. Marc Rosen Stephen A. and Bonnie W. Simon 2015 Mr. Robert Leech Mr. and Mrs. Donald Melville Mrs. Susan Bay Nimoy Mr. and Mrs. Gary Malick Pfeiffer Ms. Dee Roth Esther Simon Charitable Trust Ms. Louise Lees Ms. Nancy S. Mercure Ms. Kay F. Noble Joy F. Sabl, PhD Ms. Becky Rozman Mr. and Mrs. Jim Sims Mrs. Linda Leffert Mr. Paul M. Mershon Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Nordstrom Prof. John J. Pikulski Mr. Brian Ruder and Ms. Sandra Sizer Mr. Peter Leffman Dr. and Mrs. Craig E. Messersmith Ms. Wilda Northrop Mr. Philip Plant and Ms. Michael H. James Peggy Skornia Ms. Barbara Schraeger Mr. Rodney Lehman Mr. Francis Meyler Mr. and Mrs. David P. Norton Mr. James A. Rupke Ms. Barbara A. Sloop Ms. Ann Hochschild Poole and Dr. Diane Leresche Carol Yanowitz and Bruce Miller Ms. Ellen S. Nusblatt Mr. Paul Sack and Ms. Shirley Davis Dr. Michael S. Smith Mr. Rooney Poole Dr. and Mrs. Alexander H. Levi Ms. Bette Boyce Miller Ms. Virginia G. Nyhart Dr. Peter F. Salomon and Ms. Barbara Smith Ms. Sue D. Porter Mrs. Patricia Morgan Prof. and Mrs. Roger K. Lewis Mr. Virgil V. Miller Obermayer Foundation Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Peter Snow Doctors Judith H. and Mr. James Posner and Ms. Jill J. Prosky Santa Barbara Foundation Peter & Mary Fran Libassi Foundation Ms. Tollie Miller Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sockolov Arthur Obermayer Posner-Wallace Foundation Community Foundation Linde-Sande Family Fund The Minneapolis Foundation Freedom Fund of Sonoma County Ms. Colleen O’Callaghan Mrs. Diana Hitt Potter Santa Cruz County Mr. and Mrs. Barry Lipman Ms. Sandra Earl Mintz Mr. and Mrs. Max M. Sovell Mr. Kurt Oetiker Ms. Nancy B. Pyburn Santa Fe Community Foundation Mr. and Mrs. Robert Lipsig Mr. Perry Mitchell and Dr. Wesley E. Sowers and Mr. Ryan O’Grady R. B. C. Community Foundation of Ms. Pamela S. Woodley Dr. Sara Hamel Ms. R. Gisela Lloyd Sarasota County, Inc. Ms. Kathryn O’Keefe Ms. Helen Hilton Raiser Ms. Luella N. Spadaro Lockheed Martin Employees Ms. Helen Mitchell Ms. Leslie O’Loughlin Mr. Mike Rakeshaw and Mrs. Claire K. Sargent Political Action Commitee Ms. Lynn Mitchell Mr. John Speicher Dr. Robert Olvera Ms. Susan Benner Mrs. Judith Schaefer Ms Susan Loesser Mr. Stephen W. Modzelewski and Mr. Sterling K. Speirn Ms. Thelma C. Ordonez Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Ramsay Ms. Elizabeth Schlosser Mr. and Mrs. John Loose Mrs. Deborah Sze Mr. Jesse L Spurgeon Ormsbee Family Fund Mrs. Nonie B. Ramsay Mr. Fred Schreiber Mr. Harry M. Lowd Ms. Elizabeth B. Monagle Mr. Barrett Stambler and Ms. Ruth Drake Reed M. Scott & Aroline P. Chapin Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Cotton Moore Ms. Ann N. Ott Ms. Bobbie Regan L Y Family Trust Dr. and Mrs. David Otto Mr. and Mrs. John A. Reeves Ms. Nancy E. Stanley Dr. and Mrs. Peter B. Lyon Ms. Barbara C. Moore Dr. Monique Regard Ms. Melinda B. Scrivner Mr. Ricardo Moran Ms. Jean P. Owens Dr. David D. Stein and Mr. Daniel A. Lyons Mr. and Mrs. Michael J. Seaman Mr. Harold L. Parker Reliable Credit Association Inc. Dr. Phyllis A. Kempner Earl M. and Margery C. Chapman Mrs. Katharine B. Morgan Renaissance Charitable Foundation, Inc. Ms. Patricia Sehnert Ms. Patricia C. Stein Foundation Ms. Viola Moritz Mrs. Margaret P. Parker Mrs. Rachel Resnikoff S. E. I. Giving Fund Mr. John H. Steinberg and William A. Shapiro M.D. Ms. Irene Morris Mrs. Gertrud Parker Anita B. and Howard S. Richmond Ms. Susan M. Severo Ms. Jill Pliskin The Maggie & Waggie Foundation, Ms. Maryanne Mott Mr. and Mrs. Clifford Pash Foundation, Inc Mr. and Mrs. Peter H. Shattuck Ms. Betsey L. Stevens A Donor Advised Fund of Renaissance Mr. George Mrus Ms. Laurel Patrick Charitable Foundation Prof. Alan Ritter and Mr. John N. Shepherd and Dr. Michael P. Stevens Mr. and Mrs. Terry H. Mullin Ms. Jane Peattie Prof. Eileen Silverstein Ms. Katharine Gale Mr. John T. Stewart Mr. John F. Manfredi Mr. Leonard R. Pellettiri and Laura and Jim Murray Ms. Gay A. Roane Ms. Nancy L. Shepherd Manloy Heritage Foundation Inc. Ms. Mary B. Rose Ms. Karen Stewart Prof. John F. Nagle Ms. Shaunagh R. Robbins Mr. Dan Shia and Ms. Hui-Yun Yuan Ms. Pamela Mann Mrs. Mary R Pellettiri Mr. Daniel Stone National Philanthropic Trust Dr. John H. Roberts Mr. Daniel Shia Mr. Lou Marchello Mr. Thomas Pentecost Mr. and Mrs. Donald Strauber Mr. and Mrs. Irvin S. Naylor Dr. and Mrs. Charles W. Robertson Ms. Laura Shlien Marin Community Foundation Ms. Gladys Perez-Mendez* Mrs. Helen Studley Naylor Family Foundation Mrs. Jeanne Robertson Ms. Mary J. Shor Mr. Joseph Marino Ms. Margot Birmingham Perot Mr. and Mrs. John Sullivan Ms. Carolyn Neketin Mr. and Mrs. Peter M. Robinson Mr. Herman Siegelaar Ms. Veronica Marshall Perot Foundation Dr. and Mrs. Edwin S. Sved Ms. Joyce Newstat Ms. Mary Leonard Robinson Silicon Valley Community Foundation Mr. Stephen May and Mr. Joseph Perta Ms. Iva M. Swayne Arthur C. Nielsen Jr. Family Mr. Edward Casson

46 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 CompassionAndChoices.org 47 annual report The Champions Circle monthly giving program allows you to contribute automatically each month, helping Ms. Jane V. Talcott Warsh-Mott Funds us plan our work more effectively. Ms. Lois Talkovsky The Tim and Linda Washburn Signing up is simple, and you can Mr. and Mrs. Irving Tallman Family Fund make changes or cancel at any time. Ms. Carol Tamparo Mr. and Ms. Edward B. Wasson Dr. Ellen Tarlow Ms. Lucinda Watson Join our Champions Circle with the Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Tarr Mr. Paul Weber envelope in this issue or online at CompassionAndChoices.org/Donate. Dr. Carol Tavris Mr. Hartley D. Webster and Mr. Benson Webster Mr. James B. Taylor Mr. and Mrs. Walter H. Weiner Mr. John D. Teller Ms. Lucie Weissman Col. Brian J. Tenney Ms. Darla W. Wendel Mr. and Mrs. Claude Thau Be a CHAMPION for Choice Mr. Edward E. Westbrook Mr. James M. Thomas Mr. John E. Wetzel FOR THE FIFTH YEAR IN A ROW Mrs. Laura L. Thompson Compassion & Choices has earned Mr. Brent Wheeler and Ms. Alleen Thompson Ms. Kathryn Sweeney a four-star rating from Charity Ms. Mary L. Tinsman Navigator, the nation’s leading Mr. and Mrs. Bradley A Whitman Ms. Carolyn Titus evaluator of nonprofits. Only 5 The Harold Widom Fund at Community percent of the more than 8,000 Tornquist Family Foundation Ftn Santa Cruz County, Mr. Harold charities they rate achieve that Mr. John Tornquist Widom and Ms. Linda Larkin status — the highest level they Ms. Ama Torrance Mr. and Mrs. William E. Williamson offer — for so many years running. E. H. Traynor Ms. Suzanne Wilson Triangle Community Foundation, Inc. Mr. and Mrs. Jack Witter Mr. Percy J. Trudeau Mr. Michael Wolf Ms. Gloria Turgeson Ms. Anna Lou Wooldridge Ms. Barbara Tyner Gloria Nagy and Richard Saul Wurman Dr. Jane Takeuchi Udelson Ms. Patricia C. Wyse United Way of Central New Mexico Dr. Elaine S. Yamaguchi Dr. and Mrs. Daniel Vapnek Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Yasgur Ms. Joan Vivaldo Mrs. Jacqueline L. Young Ms. Betsy Vobach Mr. and Mrs. Milton Zaitlin I live life according to Mr. & Mrs. Isidor Wachstein & Ms. Jeanne E. Zasadil Sons Julius & Thau Family Fund my own terms. The end of Ms. Cici Zellerbach Mr. Frederick E. Wadsworth Ms. Deborah Ziegler and my “life should be no different. Mr. Bill Wagner Mr. Gary Holmes It gives me great pleasure to Ms. Margaret K. Wales Dr. and Mrs. Price Zimmermann know my automatically recurring quarterly gifts help make that happen for people in more and more states in the meantime.”

– Jay Dackman and his dog Buddy, Maryland

48 COMPASSION & CHOICES / ANNUAL REPORT 2015 PO Box 101810 Denver, Colorado 80250-1810 800 247 7421 CompassionAndChoices.org

Doc2Doc Program Answering Physicians’ End-of-Life Questions

As a doctor, your relationship with each patient is critical to determining the course of care he or she truly wants. Doc2Doc helps physicians provide up-to-date care to patients who seek answers about available end-of-life options.

Call us anytime: 800.247.7421 or Email us: [email protected]