PSA Triple-Header from Compassion & Choices // Dr. Oz's "Right to Die" and New Emergency Information

Rosalind Kipping, Vice President of the area's Compassion & Choices chapter has forwarded Maryland Juice three tidbits of information that I'm smashing together into a triple-header PSA. Ms. Kipping is also a Leisure World resident (who I met through the community's Democratic Club). Her announcements are as follows:

1. A  quick announcement that Emergency Contact Information can now be added to Maryland Drivers' Licenses (details below).
2. A request for Maryland to fund the "Advance Directive Registry" program that would allow injured or sick residents to convey their wishes to doctors if they are unable to communicate. 
3. An alert on an upcoming television appearance by the national President of Compassion and Choice on the Dr. Oz show November 1st.

1. Drivers Licenses & Emergency Contact Information:

Maryland drivers can now add three emergency contacts to their driver's license. Click on MVA's website www.mva.maryland.gov. The first topic on the left is "On-line Transactions."  Click on "More" and than click on "Emergency Contacts."

2. An Appeal to Maryland to Fund the Advance Directive Registry:

Letter Calling for Implementation of the Maryland Advance Directive Registry

CONTACT INFORMATION:

Gov. Martin O’Malley
The State House
100 State Circle
Annapolis, MD 21401-1925

Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, Secretary
Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene
Health Services Building
3 Harry S. Truman Parkway
Annapolis, MD 21401

3. Compassion & Choices Announcement of Dr. Oz "Right to Die" Show 11/1:

Friends,  I recently accompanied Compassion & Choices President Barbara Coombs Lee to tape a very special episode of “The Dr. Oz Show” and be an audience participant—what a thrill!  We just learned this segment, “The Right to Die,” will air Tuesday, November 1. (Check your local listings or click here for details.) The fact that the show’s producers asked Barbara to serve as an expert panelist is quite an honor. It reminds me, as chair of the Compassion & Choices board of directors, how much we have achieved together.  Not long ago, most people talked about end-of-life issues in hushed tones—if they talked about them at all. Now “The Right to Die” is a topic of vigorous discussion on national television. The work we’ve done together paved the way for this important dialogue. It encourages many more Americans to think about their end-of-life wishes and discuss them with their families. The media turns to Compassion & Choices repeatedly as the national authority on choice at the end of life. This is not only the result of our hard work. It is also because your generous support and that of so many others has allowed us to grow and expand our reach. Thank you! Please tune in or record the show on Tuesday. We appreciate your support very much. Sincerely,  Debbi Gibbs Chair, Board of Directors  Compassion & Choices