Attendant Care for Life Care Plans of Spinal Cord Injury Patients in the Last Years of Life: A Legal and Ethical Dilemma
Bernard F Pettingill* and Federico R Tewes
Abstract
The services of attendant care provided by Registered Nurses (RN), Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN), and Home Health Aids (HHA) make up at least two-thirds of the majority of life care plans for patients with severe injuries, like Spinal Cord Injuries (SCI). The spinal cord is the passageway that allows for communication between the brain and the body. After that connection is disrupted by an SCI, the areas below the level of injury may no longer be able to affectively send or receive communications from the brain. The level of an SCI refers to the lowest region of the spinal cord where normal motor control and sensation exist. More than two thirds of SCI patients are young people involved in motor vehicle accidents and falls, but this article focuses on SCI patients in the last years of their lives. According to physician and rehabilitation expert, Craig H. Litchblau MD: “Thanks to medical advances, SCI patients are living longer than ever before and thus require more care over a longer duration. This care is costly and must be financed if SCI patients are to remain healthy and have adequate quality of life
