Free Advance Care Planning Guide

Rekindling Compassion in Healthcare: A Doctor's Journey “I maybe have a tiny shred of compassion.” A doctor I know wrote this about a prospective patient who had been verbally abusive to many health care professionals. This patient, whom I was caring for, was a person of color, living out of their car, doing hard, low-paying work, and distrusting the healthcare system due to a lifetime of betrayals. Moral distress and burnout are rampant among healthcare professionals. Simple gestures from administrators aren't enough. What we need are the time and resources to provide the care our patients deserve. Despite a profit-driven, individualistic system, individual doctors can make a difference by connecting with patients and earning their trust. Recently, I convinced a colleague to take on this challenging patient. Their simple act of kindness broke through the patient’s shell of anger, showing that human connection is the ultimate performance incentive. In serving our patients with compassion, we find fulfillment and hope. #CompassionInHealthcare #HealthcareReform #PatientCare #MedicalEthics #TrustInMedicine

Do you know what Advance Care Planning is or how it may affect you if you don't have a plan in place? Planning for the care you receive if you are incapable of providing instruction matters. Learn more here, DM or visit www.ClearWorthFinancial.ca to schedule a time to chat with us. #AdvanceCarePlan #AdvanceCarePlanning #ClearWorthFinancial

🌟 Wednesday Wisdom - Advance Care Planning Edition 🌟 Myth: "I don’t need an advance care plan because my loved ones know my wishes." FACT: Even if you have had extensive conversations with your loved ones about your wishes, it is helpful to write your wishes down so that your spokesperson can have confidence that they are representing your goals and values. In the realm of advance care planning, one common misconception often crops up: the belief that verbal communication of your end-of-life wishes with your loved ones is sufficient. While heartfelt conversations are undeniably important, solely relying on them may not provide the clarity and assurance needed in crucial moments. Here's why putting your wishes into writing is imperative: 🖋 Clarity and Precision: Written documentation ensures there is no ambiguity about your desires. It eliminates the potential for misinterpretation or miscommunication, providing clear guidance for your spokesperson and healthcare providers. 📜 Legal Validity: Advance directives or living wills hold legal weight, ensuring that your wishes are legally recognized and honoured. This formal documentation offers a solid foundation for decision-making in medical scenarios where you may be unable to advocate for yourself. 🔍 Empowerment of Your Spokesperson: Designating a spokesperson or healthcare proxy is pivotal, and providing them with a written document detailing your wishes empowers them to confidently represent you, even in stressful situations. 🔄 Handling Unexpected Circumstances: Life can throw unexpected curveballs, and written advance care plans account for various scenarios, ensuring your preferences are followed regardless of the situation. ⚕️ Communication with Healthcare Providers: Written documentation facilitates communication with medical professionals, serving as a reference point for treatment preferences and end-of-life care decisions. 🏥 Documentation for Care Facilities: If you require care in a facility, having your wishes documented in writing allows seamless integration into your care plan, ensuring your preferences are respected. In conclusion, while heartfelt conversations with loved ones are invaluable, augmenting them with a written advance care plan is indispensable. It provides clarity, legal validity, empowerment, and peace of mind for you and your loved ones, ensuring that your wishes are honoured with dignity and respect when the time comes. Let's embrace the power of documentation in advance care planning and ensure that our voices are heard, loud and clear, even in times of vulnerability. For more information please visit: https://lnkd.in/ga29fT4H 📝💖 #AdvanceCarePlanning #MythBusting #DocumentYourWishes

What are Advance Directives? - Living Will This document outlines, in writing, your wishes regarding medical treatment in the event you are not able to communicate directly with your healthcare providers. - Healthcare Power of Attorney This document records the person you choose to make healthcare decisions if you can no longer make those decisions yourself. This person is called an “agent.” - Mental Health Care Power of Attorney Allows and directs your chosen “agent” to make decisions for you regarding behavioral health placement and treatment if you no longer have capacity to do so yourself. - Prehospital Medical Care Directive (Do Not Resuscitate) A document signed by you and a licensed healthcare professional that informs emergency personnel not to use means to resuscitate you. Making decisions about healthcare can seem daunting. It’s uncomfortable, because it asks us to contemplate the most difficult moments of our lives—and imagine a time when we can no longer make decisions for ourselves. Discussing, sharing, documenting and registering our wishes ensures that we stay in control of our care—and relieves loved ones and healthcare professionals from making decisions for us. Source: https://lnkd.in/ghTbWR2v

Advanced care planning (ACP) is crucial for seniors and healthcare professionals. The National Institute on Aging emphasizes ACP as a way to ensure medical care aligns with patients' wishes, especially in critical situations where they cannot communicate. ACP involves making decisions about the care you would want to receive if you become unable to speak for yourself, or your loved ones. This includes discussing and documenting treatment preferences. Start conversations early and revisit them periodically. Benefits of ACP: ✅ Ensures that care preferences are known and respected. ✅ Reduces stress and uncertainty for families during emergencies. ✅ Helps healthcare providers deliver care that aligns with the patient’s values and desires. Components of ACP: ➡ Advance Directives: Legal documents such as living wills and durable powers of attorney for healthcare. ➡ Communication: Discussing wishes with family members, healthcare providers, and appointed healthcare proxies. For seniors, ACP is an empowering process ensuring their healthcare journey reflects their values. For healthcare professionals, it fosters patient-centered care and improves communication within care teams. Contact Troupe Health for seniors in your senior living community and/or yoru practice. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gpYAQUbz

Are you curious to know what it is that I do? It's simple. As a healthcare professional, I coordinate, manage, and evaluate the needs of patients, including individuals, families, and children. My primary responsibility is to identify the services needed and create a plan to provide that care. Once the care plan or services are in place, I am responsible for evaluating their effectiveness. It's a challenging job, but the reward of seeing patients improve and recover is priceless. #healthcareprofessional #patientcare #careplan #evaluation #casemanager #healthcareadvocate #pairteam

🌟 Wednesday Wisdom - Advance Care Planning Edition 🌟 Myth: "I don’t need an advance care plan because my loved ones know my wishes." FACT: Even if you have had extensive conversations with your loved ones about your wishes, it is helpful to write your wishes down so that your spokesperson can have confidence that they are representing your goals and values. In the realm of advance care planning, one common misconception often crops up: the belief that verbal communication of your end-of-life wishes with your loved ones is sufficient. While heartfelt conversations are undeniably important, solely relying on them may not provide the clarity and assurance needed in crucial moments. Here's why putting your wishes into writing is imperative: 🖋 Clarity and Precision: Written documentation ensures there is no ambiguity about your desires. It eliminates the potential for misinterpretation or miscommunication, providing clear guidance for your spokesperson and healthcare providers. 📜 Legal Validity: Advance directives or living wills hold legal weight, ensuring that your wishes are legally recognized and honoured. This formal documentation offers a solid foundation for decision-making in medical scenarios where you may be unable to advocate for yourself. 🔍 Empowerment of Your Spokesperson: Designating a spokesperson or healthcare proxy is pivotal, and providing them with a written document detailing your wishes empowers them to confidently represent you, even in stressful situations. 🔄 Handling Unexpected Circumstances: Life can throw unexpected curveballs, and written advance care plans account for various scenarios, ensuring your preferences are followed regardless of the situation. ⚕️ Communication with Healthcare Providers: Written documentation facilitates communication with medical professionals, serving as a reference point for treatment preferences and end-of-life care decisions. 🏥 Documentation for Care Facilities: If you require care in a facility, having your wishes documented in writing allows seamless integration into your care plan, ensuring your preferences are respected. In conclusion, while heartfelt conversations with loved ones are invaluable, augmenting them with a written advance care plan is indispensable. It provides clarity, legal validity, empowerment, and peace of mind for you and your loved ones, ensuring that your wishes are honoured with dignity and respect when the time comes. Let's embrace the power of documentation in advance care planning and ensure that our voices are heard, loud and clear, even in times of vulnerability. For more information please visit: https://lnkd.in/ga29fT4H 📝💖 #AdvanceCarePlanning #MythBusting #DocumentYourWishes

As we progress, we are learning more and more how someone's mental state can greatly effect their physical state. In healthcare, we are finding out that Compassionate Care has been proven to significantly influence treatment outcomes. Read more about how in the article below ... 🙃