Don’t wait for end-of-life planning

Despite growing awareness of the need for advance health care planning, studies show that most Americans have not made or discussed decisions about their health care should they become unable to speak for themselves during a health crisis.|

Despite growing awareness of the need for advance health care planning, studies show that most Americans have not made or discussed decisions about their health care should they become unable to speak for themselves during a health crisis.

The fact is, 50 percent of us will become unable to speak for ourselves because of an accident, illness or dementia, according to Gundersen Health System, a healthcare nonprofit.

Representing two local coalitions that encourage all Sonoma County residents 18 and older to think and talk about advance care planning, we invite you to attend free educational sessions in Petaluma in April where you can learn more about the process.

The goal of the sessions is to normalize the conversation about advance care planning and help people see that it is just as much about living as it is about dying. Advance care planning lifts a burden off you and gives loved ones the gift of letting them know what your wishes are before a highly stressful and emotional situation occurs where they are faced with making difficult decisions about your health care without knowing what you would want.

Effective advance care planning is a process of contemplation and communication that leads to completing and distributing your advance health care directive. This process considers difficult questions that are easier to answer in your living room than in a hospital room.

Do your loved ones know if you would want aggressive medical interventions no matter what the benefits and burdens would be? Do they know what quality of life you would want following a serious injury or advanced progression of a disease? Do they know how and where you want to pass away?

Although 82 percent of Americans think advance care planning is important, less than 30 percent of adults nationwide have completed an advance health care directive, according to the California Healthcare Foundation.

Our two coalitions are working to improve such statistics. My Care, My Plan: Speak Up Sonoma County is an advance care planning community initiative. It is a collaboration of organizations and individuals from the private, public, nonprofit and volunteer sectors, staffed by the County’s Human Services Department’s Adult and Aging Division. It is a project of Health Action, a broad effort to engage the community in creating a healthier Sonoma County.

My Care, My Plan is supporting the Petaluma Advance Care Planning Collaborative, a group of seven health and human services organizations that is encouraging residents to consider and complete advance health care directives. It includes Hospice of Petaluma, Petaluma Health Care District, Petaluma Health Center, Petaluma People Services, Petaluma Senior Center, St. Joseph Health’s Petaluma Valley Hospital and Village Network of Petaluma. These organizations also belong to the Community Health Initiative of the Petaluma Area (CHIPA), which is both a local chapter of Health Action and an advisory committee to the Petaluma Health Care District Board.

Join members of our coalitions for one or more sessions next month to learn about advance care planning and how to thoughtfully complete an advance health care directive.

Sessions are April 8, 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. at the Hospice House, 416 Payran St.; April 14, 9 a.m. to noon and April 21, 9 a.m. to noon at the Village Network of Petaluma, 402 Petaluma Blvd. North.

To make reservations or for more information, call 285-2143 or email info@phcd.org.

Let’s make advance care planning a priority in Petaluma.

(Jane Eckels is chair of My Care, My Plan – Speak Up Sonoma County. Ramona Faith is CEO of the Petaluma Health Care District and member of Petaluma Advance Care Planning Collaborative.)

UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy:
  • This is a family newspaper, please use a kind and respectful tone.
  • No profanity, hate speech or personal attacks. No off-topic remarks.
  • No disinformation about current events.
  • We will remove any comments — or commenters — that do not follow this commenting policy.