Where we die matters, so let’s talk

“My attitude is that [nursing homes] are waiting rooms. You go there to wait to die. Sometimes it takes a long time. Sometimes it doesn’t. But essentially it’s where you deposit people that you don’t want to care for at home or you can’t care for at home.”

That’s an observation from Jim*, a 66-year-old patient with lung cancer, who was to die less than three months after discussing his end-of-life wishes with us.