National Healthcare Decisions Day helps families prepare

National Healthcare Decisions Day helps families prepare

Elisabeth Mistretta

Ebonie Williams and her family were caught off guard when her aunt suffered a stroke - she was just 49 years old with no prior health problems.

Once at the hospital, Ebonie's aunt experienced a second stroke that left her in a coma. Her family scrambled to find any kind documents that would indicate how she wanted to be treated, since she could not speak for herself.

"Unfortunately, we had never spoken about it and our family had no idea," Ebony, of Tinley Park, said. "The damage from the second stroke was irreversible. Two days later, without knowing of her wishes, it was decided to stop all treatment and to let her die. This was a very stressful experience for everyone in our family."

So families like Ebonie's can be prepared during times of critical illness and avoid profound stress and uncertainty, April 16 marks National Healthcare Decisions Day. This nationwide initiative exists to inspire, educate and empower the public and healthcare providers about the importance of advance care planning.

It falls on April 16 - the day after Tax Day - to correspond with Benjamin Franklin's famous quote "in this world nothing can be said to be certain, except death and taxes."

This year's theme for National Healthcare Decisions Day was "It Always Seems Too Early, Until It's Too Late." And it's certainly never too late to start talking with your family and your doctor about your healthcare wishes - whether it's April 16 or not.

JourneyCare works with each of our patients and their families to understand their medical goals and wishes. But we also strive to educate our communities on this process, too.

Through a tool called "Five Wishes," provided by community-based, advance care planning organization Be @ Ease, residents in the 10 Illinois counties served by JourneyCare can map out their advanced directives."Five Wishes" is an easy-to-use legal document that is valid in most states, and written in everyday language that lets adults plan how they want to be cared for in case they become seriously ill.

"Five Wishes" helps you express how you want to be treated if you are seriously ill and unable to speak for yourself. It is unique because it speaks to a person's holistic needs: medical, personal, emotional and spiritual.

"Many people think advance directives are only for older adults or people who face serious illness, but we encourage them for anyone 18 and older," says Rachael Telleen, JourneyCare Advance Care Planning Advocate. "The goal is to make a cultural shift and make these discussions normal, so that we all have our advance directives mapped out."

Ebonie Williams realized the value of advance care planning after her aunt's death, and it became even more of a priortiy once she became engaged and started planning for her future family.

"I will be responsible for making sure my parents' wishes are fulfilled," she said. "I called my mom and said I wanted to talk to her about advance care planning. She was relieved, since she had wanted to discuss these issues for a long time. Now I feel like I have the clarity and the tools to complete this very important step in my life. I will celebrate my new life and my marriage knowing I have my plans in place."

To obtain a copy of "Five Wishes," contact Rachael Telleen at rtelleen@journeycare.org or (312) 912-2678. Through Telleen, appointments can also be scheduled with JourneyCare volunteers who are trained to help answer questions for those completing the "Five Wishes" document. Additionally, JourneyCare can also deliver presentations on "Five Wishes" and advance care planning to community groups, including local churches or civic clubs.