How, when and where people pass away has changed in the last 100 years. Evidence suggests that people are not entirely happy about that.
A long time ago, most people passed away in their homes. There were not many hospitals or hospices for people to go to, when they were terminally ill.
There are now many of those places and most people pass away in some sort of facility.
That has been both good and bad.
People generally like that they do not die as young and from as many diseases as people used to, but most people would still rather die in their homes than in a facility, as the Economist reports in "How to have a better death."
In fact, the majority of people are not happy that they cannot choose when and where to die. People are often given life-saving treatment by doctors that they do not want.
It is important that people take some matters they can control into their own hands. Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia and other states allow people to choose living wills that specify when and what type of treatment, if any, they should receive, under different circumstances. These states also allow people to designate a person who can make personal healthcare decisions for them, if they are unable to do so, for example if they are in a coma.
Everyone should have advanced medical directives, at a minimum, that dictate what procedures doctors can and cannot use to prolong their lives. Maryland living wills are called advance medical directives and they allow people to control healthcare decisions in catastrophic situations, where they can't communicate.
Reference: Economist (April 29, 2017) "How to have a better death."