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For Long-Term Care and Skilled Nursing
Clinicians and Facilities

State and federal statutes protect the rights of every adult to make their own health care decisions, including what treatments to accept, decline, or discontinue. In Alaska, the Alaska Health Care Decisions Act (AHCDA) is the statute that governs our Advance Directive (AD) laws and Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) statewide protocols. Alaska POLST is now replacing the Alaska Comfort One program and is a legal medical order indicating the patient’s preferences for emergency and/or life-sustaining treatments when seriously ill or at the end of life.

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The Alaska POLST form was signed into regulation May 2021 and is now in use. The orders on a POLST are required to be honored by all health care professionals. To provide for a smooth transition, the Comfort One will also remain a legal medical order, the most recently signed form is the active medical order. The State stopped resupplying Comfort One forms as of June 1, 2022.

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This site is developed and maintained in collaboration with the Department of Health (DOH), AHHA, and the members of the Alaska State POLST workgroups to provide the POLST form and resources to support its use and implementation.  Future planned resources include an archive of webinar recordings for education and training, a policy share for facilities, and a best practice guide.  Check back soon for updated content! 

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Overview of the Comfort One to POLST Transition:

  • Clinicians and institutions are starting work now to adapt their practice and policies to using Alaska POLST, while continuing to recognize and honor the Comfort One form.

  • New Comfort One forms can still be completed, to allow time for POLST adoption. Comfort One forms will no longer be resupplied by the state EMS office after June 1, 2022.

  • Comfort One forms will continue to be honored and the most recently signed Comfort One or POLST order is the legal medical order.

  • Patients can be given the opportunity to voluntarily update their Comfort One form to the Alaska POLST form, if POLST better communicates their wishes.

  • Initial communication in the POLST roll out advised that we should not fax AK POLST forms—feedback has been reviewed and DHSS does now support POLST forms to be faxed, in a HIPPA-compliant manner, to patient’s local EMS/dispatch when the form indicates DNR.
     

How does the Alaska POLST form affect the Alaska MOST form?

It is recommended that clinicians and health care facilities  transition from MOST to AK POLST, too. The Alaska MOST form was developed to address the deficiencies of the Comfort One (needing a way to document pre-arrest life-sustaining treatment preferences.) However, the form was never legislated as a state-wide medical order so there are no protocols instructing health care professionals to follow the MOST orders and no provisions for immunity from civil and criminal liability for health care professionals following the order. For clinicians and facilities that are utilizing the MOST form, it is recommended to transition to using the AK POLST form instead.

 

How does POLST relate to in-facility orders for code status and life-sustaining treatments?

It will be important for Long Term Care and Skilled Nursing Facilities to offer the Alaska POLST form for any resident with advanced illness, terminal illness, frailty, or permanent unconsciousness that wishes (or with consent/assent from their legal health care decision maker) to put in place a DNR order and +/- other limitations on life-supporting treatments.

 

A facility can adopt to use the Alaska POLST form as their in-facility orders or can develop a protocol to have this form used in addition to their in-facility orders, assuring the in-facility and state-legislated POLST orders are congruent and simultaneously updated or voided as preferences change.

Clinician Toolkit

Toolkit
Resources for clinicians and healthcare administrators:

Download and print blank POLST forms for use.

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The DHSS program guide to the POLST and its use in Alaska.

Answers to commonly asked questions about the POLST and its use.

Visit Alaska POLST's Youtube page for videos and webinar recordings.

Webinars and Training:
Webinars

There are three upcoming free webinars scheduled to provide an overview of the basics of the POLST and to answer questions on its use in skilled nursing facilities and hospitals.  Check back for additional events as they become available.

UPCOMING EVENTS:

 

We do not currently have any scheduled webinars or events. Please take a look at the recorded webinars and trainings below and check back for future listings.

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RECORDINGS OF PAST EVENTS:
 

POLST Basics for SNFs - recorded Jan. 12, 2022
This webinar focuses on the basics of the POLST and the change from Comfort One to POLST for the Skilled Nursing Facility audience: SNF Medical Directors, clinicians, and administrators.

> Watch the Recording

> Download the Slides

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Transition from Comfort One to POLST for Hospitals/ER Depts - recorded Jan. 25, 2022
This webinar focuses on providing hospital and emergency department clinicians and policymakers with information about the transition from Comfort One to POLST. 

> Watch the Recording

> Download the Slides

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The Art of the POLST in SNFs - recorded Feb. 8, 2022
This webinar focuses on the art of the POLST and providing training in goals of care / serious illness conversations and use of POLST in Skilled Nursing Facilities: how to initiate POLST conversations and translate them into orders. 
> Watch the Recording
> Download the Slides

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POLST for EMS Echo - January, 2022

> Watch the Recording

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Advance Care Planning - Alaska POLST Replacing Comfort One

Part of the ANTHC Tribal Health Webinar series, this webinar provides an overview of the transition from Comfort One to Alaska POLST.

> Watch the Recording

Other POLST Resources:
Other
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