End of Life Choices Oregon
At End of Life Choices Oregon, we believe everyone deserves to approach the end of life with clarity, dignity, and compassionate support.
As a donation-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, we provide free information and guidance on all legal Oregon end-of-life options to ensure individuals can make informed decisions regardless of their geography, income, or background.
Through a statewide network of specially trained volunteers, we offer guidance and support to individuals, their loved ones, and healthcare professionals seeking to better understand legal end-of-life pathways and the resources available to them. Our work is grounded in the belief that no one should face these conversations alone or without access to clear information.
Our team of regional client volunteers are uniquely trained to provide compassionate, skilled professional guidance, working closely with clients and their loved ones.
Our Purpose
To ensure all individuals regardless of geography, income, or background, understand and can access information and compassionate support regarding all legal Oregon end-of-life option.
Our Vision
A community with access to information about end-of-life options, supportive environments for personal decisions related to death and dying, economic support when needed, and healthcare professionals and volunteers who assist and normalize the process of dying. Ideally, EOLCOR’s knowledge and practices will become embedded in established medical facilities that have stable funding and staffing, enabling these practices to become routine standards of care within the medical system.
The Founding of End Of Life Choices Oregon
When Oregon enacted the Death with Dignity Act in 1997 the law wasn’t known or understood by most Oregonians. For those who were aware of it, it was complicated to access because Medical Aid In Dying (MAID) was not a standard of care for hospices nor most medical practices or facilities. Volunteer organizations emerged to provide these missing services.
In August 2016, volunteers from different organizations came together to discuss the possibility of starting a nonprofit organization to assist Oregonians with legal end-of-life options. On January 1, 2017, End of Life Choices Oregon(EOLCOR) became a donation based nonprofit and started accepting its first clients. Within the first year, volunteer teams were established in Portland, Eugene, Southern Oregon, and Bend. At that time, 45 volunteers were trained on policies and procedures to provide services to clients. In 2017, EOLCOR served 168 clients, assisted with 56 planned deaths, and provided outreach to over 50 organizations throughout the state, in-person presentations, webinars, and videos.
With a solid foundation, EOLCOR continues to grow, adapt, and advocate for the needs of the community. Currently, providing over 130 volunteers and 30 pro bono physicians statewide. EOLCOR also offers education and support to an expanding network of community physicians, empowering them to facilitate Medical Aid In Dying services with their own patients.
Regional Teams
End of Life Choices Oregon currently has five regional teams: Bend, Eugene, Portland, Salem, and Southern Oregon. All areas throughout the state are served by our volunteers under the leadership of our experienced team leaders. If you are interested in joining our team, contact us.
Pro Bono Physicians
In each region, EOLCOR collaborates with a network of Pro Bono Physicians who participate in the qualifying process for Medical Aid In Dying if a client’s physician(s) is unable or unwilling to participate in the Death with Dignity Act. Pro Bono Physicians are also available to guide and support other physicians in the community if they want to become a DWDA participating physician. The regional Pro Bono physicians attend monthly meeting with EOLCOR’s Medical Director to ensure continuity within the qualifying process. If you are interested if becoming a pro bono physician, contact us.
Everyone deserves an end-of-life experience that is informed, supported, and guided by their choices.
Each year, End of Life Choices Oregon helps hundreds of individuals and their loved ones navigate difficult end-of-life decisions with clarity, compassion, and support. No fee. No referral needed. No judgment.
The need is growing. Our funding depends entirely on you. Every conversation we have, every family we guide, every physician we educate, every person who reaches the end of their life feeling informed and in control, is made possible by donors who believe, as we do: how we die matters.