Voice your Choice advocates for patients' final wishes
The advanced care planning program, known as Voice your Choice, advocates for the healthcare wishes of CareBridge Services patients.
While death and dying are natural parts of life’s journey, talking about end-of-life issues can be difficult for anyone. The more discussions families have, however, the more thoroughly everyone will understand their options and feel comfortable communicating their wishes when the time comes.
Sharing personal concerns, values, spiritual beliefs or views about what makes life worth living can be as helpful as talking about specific treatments and circumstances.
At CareBridge Services, we believe that voicing choices with loved ones will help ensure personal wishes are followed.
Download the free Voice your Choice Conversation Guide for tips on how to organize your thoughts and speak with your family about end-of-life planning.
Voice your Choice provides:
- Community education
- Professional CEUs
- On-site form completion
What is Voice your Choice?
Gathering courage to make personal decisions can be frightening. The hardest part is acknowledging this and determining how to begin. Keep these three points in mind:
- Thinking about the end of life can be exhausting and emotional.
- Thinking through what’s important often means having ‘Aha!’ moments.
- Determining personal choices at the end of life can bring peace of mind.
How does Voice your Choice help to make personal decisions?
What worries you?
Sometimes the best starting point for end-of-life contemplations is simply thinking about what worries you. For others, the starting point is writing about who is important.
What’s important?
On a personal level, what’s important can include relationships that may need to be mended, while for others knowing the most common regrets can offer a chance to live life without any regrets.
How much do you want to know about your health?
Different health conditions, as well as people with more than one health condition, may have several decision or crisis points along their journey.
You are the boss.
Remember, your end-of-life wishes can be changed as often as you want, as long as you are considered competent and capable of consenting to treatment. While it may seem simple and obvious to determine whether you are of sound mind, with certain conditions your competence levels can change.
Why do I feel overwhelmed?
Sometimes these explorations can bring on bouts of grief. This is normal, although often exhausting and overwhelming.
How will I be remembered?
Is it important for you to think about how you’ll be remembered? Sometimes memories are preserved in loving conversations or family memorabilia, while others prefer to leave a legacy within their community.
In this digital age, there are many services to help you preserve or create your own memories of life. Having these conversations ahead of time is not only much easier, it is much more valuable. If you can begin to talk about the end of life while people are still healthy, you will have made a significant contribution to your family, and you will discover important information for yourself.
Understanding family includes understanding hopes and fears around illness and dying. Conversations before the crisis help a family cope with inevitable loss; preparing for death helps those who live on most of all. Communication is the single most important thing family and friends can do to prepare for the end of life of someone they love. Learning, insight and love are possible to the last breath, and beyond. Talking about this time makes a rich ending more likely.
Do you have more questions about palliative or primary care?
