Ethics Committee
Get help making difficult health care decisions from the UNC Health Caldwell Ethics Committee.
You and your family may need assistance when faced with a complex health care decision. These decisions can create dilemmas for the patient, the family, the staff, the physician and the entire healthcare team. UNC Health Caldwell recognizes this challenge and provides assistance in making decisions that are consistent with the standards of medical care and with the prevailing moral values of the community.
What Does the Ethics Committee Do?
The Ethics Committee was formed in 1989 to provide confidential, ethical advice to people - patients, family members, nurses, physicians, and hospital staff members - who must deal with difficult healthcare decisions for themselves and for others.
The Ethics Committee, a committee of the Medical Staff, is composed of hospital physicians, a chaplain, nurses, and lay persons, who meet at least quarterly to provide a forum for the discussion of ethical issues that arise in the hospital and that are not being dealt with systematically by another committee or group.
The group makes recommendations to hospital staff and the community about:
- Policy review
- Case consultation and educational programming
All proceedings of the Ethics Committee are confidential.
Process
- An issue may be submitted for Ethics Committee review by a patient, family member, hospital staff member or physician.
- A verbal or written request can be submitted to the Office of Nursing Administration or any member of the Ethics Committee.
