QUESTION AND ANSWER

"QUICK FACTS" ON END OF LIFE CARE IN MINNESOTA

1. Q:  How many people die in Minnesota every year?

A:  In 1999, 38,538 people died.  This number amounted to 807 deaths per 100,000 people, or about 0.8% of the population.

2. Q:  How many of the people that die in Minnesota are over 65? over 85?

A:  In 1999, 45.4% of all deaths were people over the age of 65.  And 34.3% of all deaths were people who were over the age of 85.

3. Q:  Where are Minnesotans dying?

A:  42.8% of people died in a skilled nursing facility in 1999,while 34.4% of people died in the hospital and 20.3% of people died in their homes.

4. Q:  What kind of care is available for people who are at the end of life?

A:  The most highly regarded end of life care is hospice care.  There are over 75 hospice programs throughout the state of Minnesota.  Hospice care is available to most people in Minnesota and provides a wide array of assistance from medical care to spiritual care to house keeping services.  While palliative care, which is comfort care that treats symptoms rather than the underlying cause of disease, is not as widely available, it does exist in some parts of Minnesota.

5. Q:  What are Minnesotans dying from?

A:  Major cardiovascular disease (such as congestive heart failure) caused 35.6% of all deaths in 1999.  Cancer of all types caused 23.1% of the deaths and cerebrovascular disease (including strokes) caused 7.8% of the deaths.

6. Q:  Is there an end of life medical specialty?

A:  There is a hospice and palliative care certification for physicians and nurses.  In Minnesota, 21 out of 15,000 registered physicians are certified in hospice and palliative care.  159 out of 58,000 registered nurses are certified in hospice and palliative care.