S3118 —

2019, c.315 (S3118 1R) §1CHAPTER –315 C.26:2H-132.1   P.L.An Act establishing an end-of-life care public awareness campaign and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

2019, CHAPTER 315, approved January 13, 2020 Senate, No.

3118 (First Reprint)     An Act establishing an end-of-life care public awareness campaign and supplementing Title 26 of the Revised Statutes.

      C.26:2H-132.1  1.   End-of-life a.  care The Commissioner of Health shall establish a public awareness campaigncampaign. 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.    1. 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:

    a. (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 1[at the end-of-life] during the final stages of the patient’s life1 ;

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;

     (5)   the importance of having an advance directive, or advance directives, and the differences between advance directives and 1[Practitioner]Physician Physician1 Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment 1(POLST)1(POLST) forms;

     (6)   definitions, procedures, and other information related to 1[PractitionerPOLST Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment] POLST1 forms, established pursuant to P.L.2011, c.145 (C.26:2H-129 et seq.);

and      (8)   any other topics or matters related to advance care planning and end-of-life care 1[,]1 as the commissioner may deem necessary.

     c.     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.

     d.    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.

                                            EstablishesApproved publicJanuary awareness13, campaign2020. to promote early conversations about advance care planning and end-of-life care.