Caring Community - Planning

Advance Health Care Directive (English and Spanish)

Tue, 9 Mar 2010 12:10:51 -0800

The Advance Health Care Directive is a legally binding form that lets you exercise your right to give instructions about your own health care and/or to name someone else to make health care decisions for you in the event you are unable to speak for yourself. If you use this form, you may complete or modify all or any part of it. You are free to use a different form. In any case, agents designated and signatures required must be done in the manner prescribed on this form and mandated by the California State Legislature.

It is recommended that you use this form and complete the whole form. Completing this form will revoke any previous health care directives. It is advisable to also complete the Values Checklist we provide and include that as an attachment to your Advance Directive to help clarify your wishes.

Equally important is having meaningful conversations with people who care about you so that they know and understand your wishes concerning end of life care. Guidelines to help Talking Things Over are provided on this site to help you through the process.

Upon completion of your Advance Healthcare Directive, copies should be distributed to family members and those who would care for you in the event of a life-threatening condition. It is also recommended that you keep a current copy of your Advance Directive in the glove box of your vehicle.

PDF format

Download Advance Healthcare Directive in PDF format. (You need the free Acrobat Reader to open and print this file.)

DOC format

Download Advance Healthcare Directive in DOC format. (You must have Microsoft Word or a compatible program to open and print this file.)

en Espanol

Download Advance Healthcare Directive in Spanish

Aging With Dignity

Fri, 1 Oct 2004 21:08:54 -0700

The non-profit Aging With Dignity provides you with the practical information, advice and legal tools you need to ensure your wishes and those of your loved ones will be respected.

Californians' End-of-Life Care Differs by Race and Ethnicity

Wed, 18 Apr 2007 16:38:19 -0700

This important study and related reports released by the California Healthcare Foundation in March 16, 2007 reports that: In California, the most populous and diverse state in the country, significant racial and ethnic differences exist at the end of life. These reports â�� the first in a new series of CHCF-supported projects focusing on end-of-life issues - found significant variations in the expectations, experiences, and decisions of patients and their families in the months preceding death.

“As California’s diverse population grows older, ensuring quality care at the end of life for everyone takes on even greater significance,” Mark D. Smith, M.D., M.B.A., president and CEO of CHCF, said Thursday at the Association of Health Care Journalists conference in Los Angeles. “By supporting research and projects to improve the quality of end-of-life care, CHCF sees an opportunity to help make California a national example of best medical practices and culturally appropriate care.”

Caring Resources Guide

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 18:22:59 -0800

Caring Resources Guide (by the Compassionate Care Alliance of Monterey County) provides links to what may be among the best articles on the web or websites that discuss the many issues about serious illness, caregiving, end-of-life, and grief recovery. Includes information about diagnosis and prognosis, learning how to cope, disease management, and so much more as "A Gateway to Informatioin, Care Choices and Planning."

Center for Practical Bioethics-Case Studies at the Crossroads of decision

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:41:03 -0800

Case studies provide a way for us to analyze and think-through difficult medical and moral situations. This Center for Practical Bioethics webpage links you to stories that will challenge you to think clearly as you consider options at the crossroads of decision.

Children's Hospice & Palliative Care Coalition

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 11:06:25 -0800

Children's Hospice and Palliative Care Coalition of California is a group of organizations, institutions and individuals from throughout the State of California working together to promote compassionate medical care which includes spiritual, emotional and financial support for children with life-threatening illnesses. ...because when a child has a serious illness, medicine is not enough...

Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:43:46 -0800

The Chinese American Coalition for Compassionate Care, the only organization in the nation devoted to end-of-life concerns in the Chinese community, is an active working coalition of over 80 organizations and a total of almost 1300 individuals.

The CACCC was formed in December 2005 to address the lack of linguistically and culturally appropriate end-of-life information and training available to the Chinese community and those who serve it. The CACCC incorporated in 2007, and achieved 501c3 tax-exempt status in the same year. A Board of Directors - 15 dedicated volunteers - sets policy for the organization. It uses the facilities of its member organizations for trainings and meetings. The coalition’s focus is helping Chinese Americans with advance care planning, assisting with palliative care and pain management, providing respite and hospice volunteer training, targeting education for members of the Chinese-American community, and meeting the critical need of educating health care professionals who serve Chinese Americans.

Cinco Deseos

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:46:59 -0800

[Five Wishes — Advance Directive Workbook]

2000 Envejecimiento con Dignidad Spanish language version of the popular guide to completing advance directives. Funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Obtain from: Aging with Dignity $1 if ordering 25 or more.

Coda Alliance

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 18:46:47 -0800

The Coda Alliance is a collaborative in Silicon Valley that share the goal to implement social change in end-of-life care. Their mission is to provide practical skills and tools to plan and receive care wanted at the end of life. They publish the "Go Wish" cards in English and Spanish for assisting with advance care planning and thinking about end of life wishes.

Consider the Conversation: A Documentary on a Taboo Subject

Fri, 13 May 2011 13:09:01 -0700

A gressroots project to improve end of life care, this film sheds light on the 21st century American struggle with communication and preparation at the end-of-life. Throughout the film, there are intimate accounts of the emotional, spiritual, physical and social burdens associated with the historical shift that has occurred with dying. Forty years ago, most people experienced a quick death, but today we are more likely to suffer a slow, incremental dying process.

Consider the Conversation examines multiple perspectives on end-of-life care and includes information and experiences gathered from interviews with patients, family members, doctors, nurses, clergy, social workers, and national experts on death and dying. The film includes in-depth interviews with 40+ individuals from California, Illinois, Indiana, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, New York, Vermont and Wisconsin. 62 “person on the street” interviews were also conducted in New York City in April of 2010.

Consumer Help Site - National Association of Social Workers

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 15:11:09 -0800

In thousands of ways, social workers help people help themselves. People of every age. From every background. In every corner of the country - wherever we’re needed - starting here and now. Welcome to your source for professional advice, inspiring stories - even a social worker directory. Social workers. Help starts here. This website is provided by the National Association of Social Workers and includes sections on Seniors and Aging, Issues and Answers, Mind and Spirit. The Senior section includes in-depth look issues of import, real life stories shared, resources of value, current trends, helpful tip, options and other information helpful for finding one’s way through the senior years. The Health and Well Being section includes information related to death and dying, living with illness, pain management, etc. The Mind and Spirit section includes orientation to various mental illnesses, grief & loss and other helpful information.

End of Life Values-Choices Checklist

Tue, 20 Oct 2009 12:54:32 -0700

English

The End of Life Values-Choices Checklist is a form that lets you think about end of life choices and values, and commit them to writing.

If you prefer, you can download the End of Life Values-Choices Checklist in Microsoft Word (.doc) format.

Spanish

The End of Life Values-Choices Checklist is a form that lets you think about end of life choices and values, and commit them to writing.

If you prefer, you can download the End of Life Values-Choices Checklist in Microsoft Word (.doc) format.

Final Passages

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 19:12:44 -0800

The Nature of Life includes the Eventual Miracle of Death,
a rite of passage that deserves dignity and loving care.

Imagine. . .
creating your own home or family-run funeral.

Final Passages is dedicated to a compassionate and dignified alternative to current funeral practices.

Finding Our Way: Living with Dying in America

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 13:51:27 -0800

The Finding Our Way: Living With Dying in America national newspaper series appeared in more than 160 newspapers, reaching millions of Americans (www.findingourway.net). That series consisted of 15 articles created by a distinguished group of authors and editors, and was funded by the Robert Wood Johnson, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels, and Charitable Leadership Foundations.

This hybrid web-cdrom course offers a new opportunity for Americans to learn from the widely read newspaper series. The 15 Finding Our Way articles, and the inspiring stories they contain, are the heart of this course. In addition, the Finding Our Way authors have contributed discussion questions, additional resources, and insights that are important components of the course. The discussion questions can be used for small group discussion or for individual reflection, and the course can be taken at any time and at any pace that works for you. Upon successful completion of the course and the final examination, an electronic certificate of completion will be issued to you. No continuing education units are available for this learning experience. We hope you enjoy the course and find the information it contains useful to you in your personal life or in your work as a professional or volunteer caregiver.

Go Wish Cards, Elizabeth S. Menkin, MD

Fri, 13 May 2011 12:52:13 -0700

Go Wish cards order information, Frequently Asked Questions and examples of clinical uses of these Values Sorting Cards helpful when considering end of life choices are provided at this site. The Go Wish cards were created by Elizabeth Menkin, MD and the CODA Alliance to simplify advance care planning choices and assist with setting goals of care. Now available in Spanish.