The following is a guest blog post from Ellen DiPaola, Esq., President and CEO of Honoring Choices Massachusetts.
This year, Honoring Choices Massachusetts is so pleased to join forces with The Conversation Project and The Massachusetts Coalition for Serious Illness Care for one amazing collaborative initiative: Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of National Health Care Decisions Day.
Every competent adult, 18 and older, can download a free “Getting Started Tool Kit” to make your own health care plan. The Honoring Choices Community Partners across the Commonwealth will be hosting activities and events all month to help consumers make a plan and get connected to person-centered care in their community.
Make Your Own Plan! The Getting Started Tool Kit is an easy to use, step-by-step guide to start to make your own Health Care Plan. You can appoint a Health Care Agent (“Agent”) in a Health Care Proxy; give your Agent instructions for the kind of care you want in a Personal Directive (or Living Will), and work in partnership with your doctors & providers to put your plan into action to match quality care to your goals, values and choices. The tool kit includes a free Massachusetts Health Care Proxy document, a Personal Directive document, and a handy discussion guide “5 Things to Talk About with Your Care Providers’.
Host an activity with your group! You can download a free flyer, table poster and tool kit and host an activity where you work, live or gather. Tell us about your activity and we’ll post it on our Calendar of Events. For free tools and ideas for activities/events, click here.
You can view and download other helpful tools and materials, including:
- MA Coalition for Serious Illness Care has developed a campaign that focuses on the theme: “Write Your Script, and set the stage for health care that honors your wishes.” #WriteYourScript hinges on the notion that we are all stars of our own movie. Like all great scripts, our lives involve rich, nuanced narratives—and we deserve a satisfying outcome, however we define it.
- The Conversation Project Starter Tool Kits can help adults talk about their wishes for end of life care.
- Download a Health Care Proxy in 8 languages
For more information and to see the Calendar of Events, go to the April is Health Care Decisions Month webpage.