Graphic Credit
Ethan Hughes,
Possibility Alliance


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The Impact of Medically Induced Longevity (MIL) on Families
At the time when they are at the apex of careers (trying to save for retirement), and at the time when they are most needed by children and grandchildren, boomer caregivers often find themselves at wits’ end due to complex issues related to their parents’ longevity. And as many boomers begin to realize that current levels of publically funded medical support will not be available to them in their elder years, they recognize the need to develop alternatives; including healthy holistic living/aging and a willingness to gracefully accept death at nature’s appointed time.

Boomer Optioneers, supported by a grant from Rose Community Foundation’s Boomers Leading Change initiative, is seeking to understand the impact of Medically Induced Longevity on boomers and their families.
"Informed Choices about Death" will help:
  • Do you and the adults in your family have advance directives (living wills)?
  • How prevalent is MIL?
  • Why are boomers and their elders willing to accept the typical treatment default of MIL?
  • What are the physical, spiritual, emotional, family, professional, financial and logistical impacts of MIL on boomers?


We begin in metro Denver, Colorado, but the issues are common to boomers throughout America.
  • Do you and the adults in your family have advance directives (living wills)?
  • How prevalent is MIL?
  • Why are boomers and their elders willing to accept the typical treatment default of MIL?
  • What are the physical, spiritual, emotional, family, professional, financial and logistical impacts of MIL on boomers?
  • Do boomers feel that their elders’ physicians have the time, confidence and information/tools to speak openly (forecast) about MIL?
  • Are families offered forecasting, as well as alternatives to MIL (such as hospice), at crucial times?
  • What kind of holistic knowledge do physicians need about a patient in order to forecast effectively?
  • Would holistic knowledge at crucial times (backed by advance directives/living wills) provide the "time out" that elders and their families need to in order to fully consider the consequences of MIL?
    • If so, what are the questions of a holistic assessment?
    • If so, when are those crucial times?
  • How does spiritual development impact a person’s demise?
  • How does spiritual development impact an elder’s and a family’s choice of MIL?

Back to main Meditally Induced Longevity Page