What Is Advance Care Planning?
NOTE: THE FOLLOWING INFORMATION HAS BEEN EXCERPTED FROM HOSPICE FOUNDATION OF AMERICA’S ON-LINE LEARNING COURSE ENTITLED ENGAGING FAITH COMMUNITIES IN END OF LIFE CARE. VIEW THE FULL COURSE.
| "We cannot plan when or how we will die. However, we can ensure that our wishes are honored at the end of life. Let it be a time of peace, where the greatest burden to your loved ones is saying goodbye-and not determining how you will die"
Communicating End-of-Life Choices to Family and Loved Ones: Isn't it Time We Talk about It? |
This section of the course is intended to provide an understanding of advance care planning. The process involves close examination of what is important to the individual, what his or her choices might be, and the opportunity to make those choices in advance.
No amount of planning can cover all contingencies, but the failure to plan will certainly lead to confusion, anxiety, and worst of all, regrettable decisions.
It describes the documents that should be completed, with emphasis on what they mean and the questions the terminally ill person and his or her family need to ask in order to complete the process of documenting their wishes. Completion of the documents begins with the conversation about the individual's wishes. As a spiritual leader you can play an important role.
What is advance care planning?
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Advance care planning is the process of planning for future medical care in the event that the individual is unable to make his or her own decisions. It is a process of exploring, discussing, articulating and documenting those preferences, based on the person's values and goals about health and medical treatment. Some people may not be certain of their values and goals. It is here that you can provide valuable support and guidance. You are uniquely qualified to speak to the religious and spiritual issues that are an important part of shaping one's values and life choices.
Armed with a clear understanding of personal values and goals, the planning process allows the person to identify the levels and intensity of medical care he or she would like, or not like, to receive in a variety of clinical situations. As we go through this part of the program, we will provide you with tools to help the person you counsel come to a clear understanding of his or her personal values. First, we would like to go over the documents used in the care planning process.
