There are many important topics for seniors and caregivers. But, advanced care planning is one of the most critical areas. It’s also one that is often overlooked.
The term refers to thinking and talking about what the future holds, particularly in terms of healthcare and end-of-life.
Why Look at Advance Care Planning?
Advance care planning gives people the chance to think about the future and determine exactly what they want. The idea can be terrifying and some people avoid the topic for that reason.
Yet, when it comes down to it, most people do have some idea about what they want and don’t want. Advance planning provides the chance to come to this understanding. It also allows you to put systems in place that help promote the desired outcomes.
There are other key reasons to consider advance care planning too:
- Visions of the future differ. People often assume that what they want aligns with the others in their life. Yet, couples often have vastly different views about what they want. The same is true for parents and children. These differences are never recognized unless the time is taken to talk about end-of-life.
- There is paperwork. It isn’t enough to simply say that you want a certain outcome. Various steps and processes need to be followed. Getting these right is critical.
- The future is unpredictable. No one knows what is going to happen. A single incident or a fast progressing illness could quickly rob you or your family member of the ability to make decisions. This means you need plans in place beforehand.
- It’s better for everyone. Even if your family member doesn’t care about their end of life, getting systems in place helps others as well. Doing so removes ambiguity. The same is true for you. It’s worth planning to help your family, even if the process doesn’t feel necessary to you.
- It helps emotionally. Planning for the future is scary. But, it also helps. People often find that they feel better and have a greater sense of control when they start to plan and make decisions. The process can also make people feel like things will be okay, even if they don’t know exactly what the future will look like.
Where to Begin
There are many different angles that you can consider for advance care planning. Countless books, posts and guides have been made on the topic – not to mention all of the businesses that offer related services.
The large amount of information is often overwhelming, leaving people unsure about where to begin.
To make matters worse, you need to get things right. Advance care planning involves some specific paperwork and decisions to be made. If this is not done correctly and wishes aren’t effectively communicated, then the senior’s wishes can get lost in the process.
There are many options that you can take, far too many to cover here. But, we do want to look at one powerful approach, called Five Wishes.
Five Wishes (Aging with Dignity)
Five Wishes is a website that allows people to develop a living will. The document relies on the following five key concepts:
- The Person I want to Make Care Decisions for Me When I Can’t
- The Kind of Medical Treatment I Want or Don’t Want
- How Comfortable I Want to Be
- How I Want People to Treat Me
- What I Want My Loved One to Know
They offer a sample that you can check out here.
The entire document is written in easy-to-understand language. It also acts as a combination of a power of attorney form and an advance care directive.
As the site points out, the Five Wishes document can be used as a legal document in many, but not all states. The sample provides a list of where it can and cannot be used as such.
But, even if you cannot use the document directly in your state – it can still be a useful guide. For example, caregivers and doctors may use it as a reference, even if it is not the formal document. Going through the process could also make it easier to understand the legal paperwork in your state.
Other Options
There are also other choices that can work well.
One is a website called The Conversation Project. The site was specifically developed to help people think and talk about end-of-life. It hosts an invaluable Conversation Starter Kit, along with details about how to be a health care proxy and how to talk to doctors about end of life processes and challenges.
A second resource is the site Prepare. This helps people to develop questions about medical wishes and allows them to develop their own summary. The site has a strong emphasis on making information easy to read and understand, making it suitable for a wide range of people.
Once again, you’ll need to check the legal status of anything you create. In most cases, the document itself may not be viable as a legal form on its own. But, the process of creating it is still important, as are the conversations that it inspires.
Types of Advance Planning
Advance planning takes on many different forms, depending on needs and situations.
In some cases, advance planning may simply involve talking about what end of life should look like and possibly putting plans in place.
For example, healthy adults may focus on what they want their retirement to look like and whether they want to downsize. They may not want to think beyond this, especially if they don’t have strong opinions about lifesaving measures.
Other times, advance planning may be more formal. It may be necessary to set up a POLST form or an advance care directive.
We’re not going into the topic in depth for this post, as it will be considered in detail elsewhere. However, you will need to be familiar with the different types of advance planning. This makes it easier to work out which ones will be relevant to your situation and needs.
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