Dr. Stephen Banister
Dr. Banister speaks via zoom conference to group of
end-of-life doulas and caregivers.
October 17, 2020
Many in Nevada County may well already know Dr. Banister as he has been practicing medicine in the Nevada City/Grass Valley communities for 41 years. He went to medical school at the University of Miami, Florida and practiced family medicine for a many years. Later he focused on wholistic medicine including pain management and cannabis medicine.
During the past number of years, Dr. Banister has been providing home care to dying patients and was grateful when California passed the End of Life Options Act in 2016. This law allows for Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and gives the right of a terminally ill, mentally competent adult the option to ingest medication, prescribed by their doctor, to end their unbearable suffering and to die peacefully in their sleep. This is not suicide or “physician assisted suicide” because the person is already dying from their disease. They are choosing to not prolong a difficult and painful dying process.
Dr. Banister was mentored by Dr. Lonny Shavelson and his partner Thalia Wolf, RN, in the art of providing the medical care for the person asking for MAID. He feels it is an honor to be able to prescribe the medicine for a patient’s death ceremony and believes his care makes a difference to the dying person and their inner circle of family and friends.
There has been a growing shift in the culture of death in our society evidenced by more states passing laws which allow for death with dignity. This shift is normalizing MAID as an option for the full circle of end of life choices. Currently there are eight states, plus Washington DC, where MAID is legal and additional states have legislation currently underway. We are fortunate to have Dr. Banister offering his service to the region.
Dr. Banister reflects that the decision for a patient to utilize his services is a powerful and personal one and the timeline in making the decision is very individualized. His care is always patient focused. He has found that sometimes the patient will make all the arrangements for MAID and then decide to let nature take its course. Simply having the medication available can provide comfort and a sense of control over the terms of one’s inevitable death. He explores the quality of life the patient has and the suffering being experienced as the decisions are being made and is always present when the patient takes the prescribed medicine.
Patients find Dr. Banister often by word of mouth in addition to referrals by Full Circle of Living and Dying and our local hospice. If you would like more information on this end of life option you can reach out to Full Circle of Living and Dying (530) 270-9839 and talk to one of our volunteer doulas or you can directly contact Dr. Banister’s office at (530) 277-1347. He works out of his home and makes home visits if a person is too frail to come to his office.
Additional information on MAID and more can be found on the following sites:
https://endoflifechoicesca.org/. https://compassionandchoices.org/
https://www.acamaid.org/
Many in Nevada County may well already know Dr. Banister as he has been practicing medicine in the Nevada City/Grass Valley communities for 41 years. He went to medical school at the University of Miami, Florida and practiced family medicine for a many years. Later he focused on wholistic medicine including pain management and cannabis medicine.
During the past number of years, Dr. Banister has been providing home care to dying patients and was grateful when California passed the End of Life Options Act in 2016. This law allows for Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and gives the right of a terminally ill, mentally competent adult the option to ingest medication, prescribed by their doctor, to end their unbearable suffering and to die peacefully in their sleep. This is not suicide or “physician assisted suicide” because the person is already dying from their disease. They are choosing to not prolong a difficult and painful dying process.
Dr. Banister was mentored by Dr. Lonny Shavelson and his partner Thalia Wolf, RN, in the art of providing the medical care for the person asking for MAID. He feels it is an honor to be able to prescribe the medicine for a patient’s death ceremony and believes his care makes a difference to the dying person and their inner circle of family and friends.
There has been a growing shift in the culture of death in our society evidenced by more states passing laws which allow for death with dignity. This shift is normalizing MAID as an option for the full circle of end of life choices. Currently there are eight states, plus Washington DC, where MAID is legal and additional states have legislation currently underway. We are fortunate to have Dr. Banister offering his service to the region.
Dr. Banister reflects that the decision for a patient to utilize his services is a powerful and personal one and the timeline in making the decision is very individualized. His care is always patient focused. He has found that sometimes the patient will make all the arrangements for MAID and then decide to let nature take its course. Simply having the medication available can provide comfort and a sense of control over the terms of one’s inevitable death. He explores the quality of life the patient has and the suffering being experienced as the decisions are being made and is always present when the patient takes the prescribed medicine.
Patients find Dr. Banister often by word of mouth in addition to referrals by Full Circle of Living and Dying and our local hospice. If you would like more information on this end of life option you can reach out to Full Circle of Living and Dying (530) 270-9839 and talk to one of our volunteer doulas or you can directly contact Dr. Banister’s office at (530) 277-1347. He works out of his home and makes home visits if a person is too frail to come to his office.
Additional information on MAID and more can be found on the following sites:
https://endoflifechoicesca.org/. https://compassionandchoices.org/
https://www.acamaid.org/
