We talk a lot about how we want to live our life. What are our goals? And yet, we often avoid a discussion about our goals for end of life. This has come more to the forefront during COVID.
Moderated by JABA CEO Marta Keane, this webinar will explain the importance of advance care planning, and how to approach it- what resources are available and who should be part of the discussion. Nathan Kottkamp and Dr. Angela Stiltner have a long history of advocating and educating on this topic. They will share their expertise and answer questions. It is time to start the conversation!
JABA, Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association, collaborate to offer free life-planning services to JABA clients remotely
When the pandemic forced JABA to close its doors, our popular Wills for Seniors program had to be canceled. Eighty-one seniors had signed up for the March event, which provides in-person life planning services with an attorney at no charge, including a simple will, durable power of attorney and an advance medical directive that make their healthcare wishes clear. At a time when these decisions are more important than ever, it was particularly difficult for us to cancel the program.
However, thanks to the newly formed Central Virginia Advance Directives Collaborative, the Legal Aid Justice Center, JABA, and the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association, those 81 seniors will get free life planning services after all.
"I reached out because my family is from Detroit and I was seeing firsthand the need for preparedness in this regard," says attorney Kristin Clarens with the Legal Aid Justice Center, who is also coordinator of the Charlottesville-Albemarle Bar Association’s Volunteer Lawyer Program. "Since we're several weeks behind the coronavirus epicenters in terms of crisis response, I hoped that by connecting CABA lawyers with vulnerable neighbors, we would be able to support and to reduce the stress of our neighbors in need in a really unstable and scary time."
JABA clients will work remotely with an attorney to develop a plan for these important documents.
Indeed, even before the pandemic, JABA recognized that making important decisions about end of life not only impacts families, but also our entire communities, which is why we helped jump-start a community-wide conversation that has become the the Central Virginia Advance Directives Collaborative.
"The goals of the Collaborative is to have the majority of adults in Central Virginia file advance directives with their health care providers," says JABA CEO Marta Keane. "The peace of mind that comes with completing an Advance Directive and knowing that your family/ friend/ designee will be able to know and follow your wishes is huge. And the comfort it gives the family to not make a decision in a vacuum. Everyone deserves to maintain their dignity until the end. The quality of life that we each wants includes the quality of the end of our life."
JABA hopes to continue its in-person Wills for Seniors program this fall. Learn more here: Wills for Seniors Program
JABA Wills for Seniors clients can contact Kristin Clarens at kclarens@justice4all.org, or at 434-249-6125. When you call, be sure to tell her you are a JABA client.
Decision Day 2020: Don't Delay. Have the Conversation. You'll Be Glad You Did.
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.
