Medical Aid in Dying & End-of-Life Planning in New Hampshire

Medical Aid in Dying & End-of-Life Planning in New Hampshire
Basket of healthy food on a picnic blanket
Many people have an advance directive, but fewer understand how end-of-life decisions are carried out in medical settings. This course examines end-of-life planning in New Hampshire, including the role of advance directives and the importance of medical orders such as Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) forms. Participants will learn about current end-of-life options available in New Hampshire, including voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED) and stopping medical treatment. We will also cover Medical Aid in Dying (MAiD), a legal option available to roughly one third of Americans, but not yet in NH. We will discuss what MAiD is, what it is not, where things stand in NH, and how individuals are working to bring this option to NH. Emphasis is placed on practical understanding, communication and planning for real-world decisions.
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Thu Oct 22, 2026
6:00PM - 8:00PM
Online - Virtual via Zoom
25.00 Fee
2
Scholarship Discount
OLLI-AGNG-1050
Zoom

Presenters | Rebecca Brown & Rick Pollack

Rebecca Brown is founding director of the New Hampshire Alliance for End of Life Options, a grassroots movement advancing self-determination and compassion at life’s end. A journalist and author, Brown also founded the North Country’s land conservancy and works as a professional fly-fishing guide. Her commitment to improving end-of-life experiences grew from her husband’s death while she was serving in the New Hampshire Legislature. She focuses on the policy and personal realities of serious illness, death and dying.

Rick Pollak, M.D., is a family physician and hospice medical director with more than 30 years of experience supporting patients through the challenges of serious illness. He focuses on shared decision making, blending clinical evidence and judgment with deep respect for individual values and goals. Pollak’s work reflects a longstanding commitment to making end-of-life care more humane, thoughtful and aligned with what matters most to patients and families.