April 16, 2020 is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), which exists to inspire, educate and empower the public and healthcare providers about the importance of advance care planning.
And as Nathan Kottkamp, founder of National Healthcare Decisions Day, wrote recently, “…the importance of advance care planning is VERY real right now.”
“I have a healthcare directive not because I have a serious illness, but because I have a family.”
Indeed, here in the Charlottesville area, the Central Virginia Advance Directives Collaborative (CVADC), a group of 50+ individuals 20+ area organizations, has been working collaboratively to raise awareness about the importance of advance care planning. And that's not going to stop as we face the current health emergency caused by the COVID-19 virus.
"It's a very poignant time to have 'the conversation,' says JABA's special projects coordinator, Kay Jenkins, who is helping to organize outreach for the Collaborative. "Because the subject matter has more relevance to people during this particular crisis we are all going through together."
One of the best resources out there is this Starter Kit from The Conversation Project, a public engagement initiative with a goal that is both simple and transformative: to have every person’s wishes for end-of-life care expressed and respected.
You'll learn...
> How to talk with your loved ones openly and honestly, before a medical crisis happens, so that everyone has a shared understanding about your wishes.
> About the importance of choosing a health care proxy – the person who will make decisions about your medical care if you become unable to make them for yourself.
> How families and loved ones of people with Alzheimer’s disease or another form of dementia can best have these difficult conversations.
> How talking with your doctor or nurse now makes it easier to make medical decisions when the time comes.
Don't Delay. Have to Conversation. You'll Be Glad You Did.
