In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, this event has unfortunately been cancelled.
In an effort to educate and empower people to learn about and engage in advance healthcare decision-making, VNA Community Healthcare & Hospice has planned a full day of outreach culminating in a panel presentation from three local experts as part of National Healthcare Decisions Day.
Recognized on Thursday, April 16, National Healthcare Decisions day is a collaborative effort of national, state and community organizations aimed at ensuring information, opportunity and access is available for all to document important healthcare decisions.
It is an initiative of The Conversation Project, which is aimed at helping people begin end of life conversations with loved ones and which works in collaboration with the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
Without an advance care plan, a person’s loved one can be left making difficult decisions during a grief-stricken time with no guidance as to what their friend or family member would choose for themselves if they could. That is why it is so important to not only put thought into what you would want in a variety of medical situations, but also to learn how to choose a healthcare proxy, and how to have the conversation about your wishes with the people you care about most.
As part of this movement, VNA Community Healthcare & Hospice is providing information and tools for the public to talk about their wishes with family, friends and healthcare providers. The nonprofit agency will also have information available on how to execute written advance directives, such as healthcare power of attorney and living wills in accordance with Connecticut state laws.
On April 16, trained VNA Community Healthcare & Hospice volunteers will be available at local senior centers to provide information and education, and the day will culminate in a panel that evening at the Guilford Free Library. An informal social hour with hors d’oeuvres and the opportunity to review informational materials will begin at 5 p.m. with the panel presentation scheduled to begin at 6 p.m.
Panelists include Donna Cricenzo, concierge physician and the medical director of the VNACHCH hospice program, who will discuss the chronic illness journey and ultimate palliative and hospice care decisions one might face. Joan Reed Wilson of RWC, LLC Attorneys and Counselors at Law will sit on the panel to share important information regarding elder law and estate planning. Finally, Guy Tommasi, the executive director of VNACHCH affiliate LIFETIME Care at Home will share his perspective on the need for non-medical in-home care and the decisions associated with that phase of the healthcare journey.
Healthcare Decisions Day events:
Meet with a VNACHCH representative April 16:
Hamden Senior Center
11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
No registration required
North Haven Senior Center
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
No registration required
Guilford Senior Center
11 a.m. to 1 p.m.
No registration required
Madison Senior Center
11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.
No registration required
Advance Care Planning panel April 16:
Guilford Free Library
67 Park St. Guilford
5 p.m. hors d’oeuvres
6 p.m. panel discussion
Register at 866.474.5230
Healthcare Decisions Day resources:
Below is a link to a summary of Connecticut State law pertaining to an individual’s right to make health care decisions, directions for completing the consolidated health care instructions and advance directives document and the documents themselves including Appointment of A Health Care Representative, Living Will and Health Care Instructions, Appointment of a Conservator and Organ Donation in one form.
https://www.ct.gov/agingservices/lib/agingservices/pdf/advancedirectivesenglish.pdf
Below are links to useful documents when it comes to starting the advance care planning conversation with family members and healthcare providers.
For more information and for these documents available in other languages, visit theconversationproject.org.