Ask the Experts Blog

If you were in a serious accident or had a life threatening illness, and were unable to make your own medical decisions, who would you trust to do this (be your patient advocate) on your behalf? Does the person that you trust to make those decisions know what is important to you? 

The community based project Speak for Yourself, Plan Your Care is a collaboration of various partners within Caring Circle, Lakeland Health, and PACE (Program of All-Inclusive Care for the Elderly) that o­ffers the opportunity for individuals in southwest Michigan to request and receive a detailed conversation regarding their healthcare wishes. Please join us and Americans across the country in making future healthcare decisions known to family, friends, and healthcare providers.

As one Lakeland Health nurse shares, “Being nurse for over 40 years, I’ve felt privileged and honored to be present during two life events – the birth of a child and at the hours of a person’s death. Both events have a lasting impact on those people involved in our lives, such as family and friends. We do so much to prepare for a birth from baby showers and classes, to birth plans. We should also do something similar for another event that will happen to all of us – the end of our life.”

An advance care plan (ACP) is similar to the idea of a birth plan that so many couples put together in advance of their delivery date. The goal is to create an experience that they want and are comfortable with, and to share their needs and requests with their healthcare team. The plan may not always go as expected, but it does provide a framework from which to have further discussions regarding options related to care.

Advance care planning is the process of deciding your own future medical care before you need it. This plan involves a series of conversations with your designated patient advocate around topics that are important to your end-of-life care. Caring Circle staff can help guide you in completing legal documents to ensure that if you are unable to communicate for yourself, your healthcare wishes will be carried out. This plan will provide the framework of your healthcare intentions, and is something you should discuss with your primary care provider on a regular basis. Your ACP is not set in stone, and can be revised or updated as needed.

Melinda Gruber, PhD, CEO of Caring Circle and VP of Continued Care Services, states, “Communicating your healthcare wishes ahead of time allows you to receive medical care that matches your values and goals, and helps prevent family members from being forced to make decisions in a crisis without any guidance.”

We are offering multiple sessions about advanced care planning. These are free and open to the community. Click here for full list of dates and time.

For additional information contact Caring Circle at www.caring-circle.org/planyourcare or
call (269) 429-7100