Recently, through my Gerontology masters work and general interwebs perusal, I’ve come across a few essential resources for advance directives planning that are a must for this important task. So, let’s get right to business, here they are:
PrepareForTheirCare.org: This website includes a cache of informative direction. “The PREPARE programs were developed by Dr. Rebecca Sudore, MD out of a deep passion to help empower people and their family, friends, and caregivers to obtain and understand medical information and to make informed medical decisions.” The website includes resources on how to help yourself and others with medical decision planning, easy-to-access advance directives, and tips on how to ask people about their wishes and how to say yes (or no!) to being “the person” for someone else.
The Conversation Project: Another website that encourages conversation about advance directives and how to make good on them. The Conversation Project® is “a public engagement initiative of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI). Our goal is both simple and transformative: to help everyone talk about their wishes for care through the end of life, so those wishes can be understood and respected.” The website features a Conversation Starter Guide, Guides to Choosing and Being a Healthcare Proxy and a What Matters to Me Guide among many other resources.
Five Wishes: This non profit organization bills itself as “the nation’s only national advance care planning program. Providing peace-of-mind for more than twenty-five years.” This program is a gold standard in advance directives planning. I’ve heard some debate amongst friends on whether the documents hold up legally in all cases, but there is no question Five Wishes is a go-to resource and renowned, reliable national expert in this area of Grand Planning.
Making good on your advance directives is one of the most generous and thoughtful acts you can do for yourself and the people who love and care for you.
