Alivia Care, Inc. is a Jacksonville-based parent company of Community Hospice & Palliative Care formed in 2020 that supports patients and their families going through serious illnesses. They offer a variety of services including supportive care, care coordination, hospice care, home care and advance care planning.
Susan Ponder-Stansel, CEO of Alivia Care Inc., spoke about the importance of advance care planning and some tips for making the process as seamless and stress-free as possible.
“Anyone over the age of 18 should consider advance directives,” Ponder-Stansel said. Most people wait until they are already in hospice to make decisions about their medical care. In fact, only 33% of Americans have advance care planning. It’s important to have a plan for future medical treatment in case a situation occurs where you are unable to communicate your health care wishes.
Ponder-Stansel said that when there is no documented plan, loved ones can be faced with difficult choices and be forced to guess what their wishes are. Advance care planning leads to a smoother, less stressful medical experience for you and your family.
A good way to start advance care planning is to select a health care surrogate. A health care surrogate helps make medical decisions for you based on your documented wishes. Choosing a health care surrogate can eliminate a lot of time in a medical situation, Ponder-Stansel explained. Oftentimes, health care surrogates are spouses or family members, but it’s important when selecting this person that they are reliable and respect your requests.
Making a living will is also essential to specifying what you want in various medical decisions. This legal document ensures that your medical wishes are respected and keeps your family from having to make difficult decisions.
Ponder-Stansel said that she has seen how much guilt family members carry when their love one’s wishes are unknown and they have to make unexpected decisions for them. They’re often left wondering if they made the right choice. Documenting your wishes now can lead to a peace of mind for the future.
Dual power of attorney is also very helpful when it comes to managing your finances and health care in a situation where you are incapacitated. For example, designees can make sure your bills are paid in an instance where you are unable to pay them yourself.
Talking about such matters can be difficult and emotional for family members, but it’s important to inform them and your health care provider of your wishes.
Ponder-Stansel said that discussing advance care planning with family is critical to alleviate potential stress and complications in the future. Some people may not want to talk about it, but it’s better in the long run.
“Timing is everything,” she said. “Look for the right moment.” In some cases, the conversation may not come up naturally, but bringing it up casually is a great place to start. The Five Wishes document is an easy way to do this. It contains a checklist of details involved in advance care planning and touches on topics in an approachable, non-scary way. It poses questions and is a good way to get a conversation going. Honoring Choices is another excellent resource for advance care planning. It is similar to Five Wishes, but offers more medical explanations, which some people prefer when tackling this topic.
Alivia Care sees advance care planning as a loving gift to your family. It provides a plan for the future and peace of mind going forward. Alivia Care offers workshops where they can answer any of your advance care planning questions and partners with free resources like 5 Wishes and Honoring Choices to make the process easier. To learn more, go to https://www.aliviacare.com.
