Attorney General's News Release

September 9, 2008

Annual summit encourages Missourians, families to make end-of-life decisions now

Jefferson City, Mo. - The fourth annual Missouri End-of-Life Summit takes place in Jefferson City this week, bringing policymakers, healthcare experts and consumer advocates together to improve quality of life for Missourians in their final days, weeks and years.

The day-long end-of-life public policy summit is Friday, Sept. 12, beginning at 9 a.m., at the Capitol Plaza Hotel in Jefferson City. Attorney General Jay Nixon is a sponsor of the event, which discusses end-of-life policy, such as advance directives, pain management and hospice care.

The keynote speaker is Dr. Charles Crecelius, President of the American Medical Directors Association, who will present "Dying to Get There - Directions in End-of-Life Care." The policy summit is also intended to encourage Missourians to make decisions about the end of life and put them in writing.

"The tragic stories of Nancy Cruzan, Terri Schiavo and others remind us that it's critical for Missourians to make and document their end-of-life decisions while they are able," Nixon said. "Doing so will help family members, friends and the medical community to provide the best possible care to ensure a good quality of life for Missourians in their final days."

The Attorney General offers a free publication called Life Choices, which helps walk Missourians through the legal and personal issues involved with end-of-life decision making. Life Choices was put together by Nixon's office and the Missouri End-of-Life Coalition, and more than 140,000 copies have been provided to Missouri consumers in the past three years. The publication is available at no charge by contacting Nixon's office at 1-800-392-8222 or ago.mo.gov.

To register or get additional information on the summit, contact the End-of-Life Coalition at 573-635-4999 or abickel@mo-endoflife.org.

Life Choices publication, pdf format

Order free publications

Inquiries from consumers should be directed to consumer@ago.mo.gov or 1-800-392-8222 (from within Missouri) or 573-751-3321 (outside Missouri).

All media inquiries should be directed to the Communications Office.

E-mail      Phone: 573-751-8844         Fax: 573-751-5818