Current through L. 2023, c. 349.
Section 26:2H-132.1 - End-of-life care public awareness campaigna. The Commissioner of Health shall establish a public awareness campaign to foster community-wide discussions and to promote early conversations about advance care planning and patient preferences to improve decision-making in relation to end-of-life care.b. The commissioner, in establishing the public awareness campaign, shall develop outreach efforts and provide information and educational materials to the general public on various end-of-life care topics including, but not limited to: (1) how to effectively conduct advance care planning conversations with family members, friends, caregivers, healthcare providers, and other individuals involved in a patient's care, regarding personal goals, preferences, and the type of care desired during the final stages of the patient's life ;(2) how community leaders and members can appropriately, and in an ethnically, culturally, and linguistically sensitive way, facilitate community-wide discussions regarding advance care planning and end-of-life care;(3) definitions, procedures, and other information related to advance directives, established pursuant to P.L. 1991, c.201 (C.26:2H-53 et seq.);(4) the differences between the two types of advance directives, namely proxy directives and instructive directives;(5) the importance of having an advance directive, or advance directives, and the differences between advance directives and Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) forms;(6) definitions, procedures, and other information related to POLST forms, established pursuant to P.L. 2011, c. 145(C.26:2H-129 et seq.);(7) standardized and approved definitions of, and differences between, palliative care, hospice care, comfort care, and other end-of-life-care terms; and(8) any other topics or matters related to advance care planning and end-of-life care as the commissioner may deem necessary.c. Information provided under the public awareness campaign shall be disseminated using ethnically, culturally, and linguistically appropriate means, in a manner that demonstrates respect for individual dignity and sensitivity for ethnic, cultural, and linguistic differences. Where feasible and appropriate, the information shall be made available in a variety of languages.d. As necessary, the commissioner shall partner with, and expand upon, community-based initiatives and training programs that educate the general public on advance care planning and end-of-life care.Added by L. 2019, c. 315,s. 1, eff. 1/13/2020.