Anna’s Angels Community Conversation: An Atlantic Health Initiative
Today, April 16, is the 5th annual National Health Care Decisions Day. This is a national community campaign to bring awareness to the importance of advance care planning. This essentially means that when people are well and able, they should have conversations with their families, friends and health care professionals about what they would want for themselves if an acute medical event rendered them unable to express their wishes. To go a step further and be even more prepared, it would be well advised to complete an advance directive and appoint a health care proxy.
As we are all reminded, life happens; it is fragile and often times unpredictable. And although we cannot plan for every eventuality, we can express our thoughts about how we might want things to go in different health care scenarios. We can express our values and our philosophy about what is important in this life, and how and when we would like to leave if we were faced with a life limiting illness or unexpected injury.
Waiting until a crisis happens and leaving your loved ones guessing what you may have wanted puts them in a most untenable situation, feeling as if they are playing god. However, if you have had earlier conversations about this, expressed your thoughts and conveyed your spiritual and practical values, you have, in fact, given your loved ones a gift which can guide them as they navigate the painful road of decision making during a health care crisis.
Several years ago, Jeanne Kerwin of the palliative care team at Overlook Medical Center created a story, for educational purposes, which elucidated some of the thorny issues that come up as family members are suddenly thrust into the role of health care decision makers. This home grown story, a fictional compilation of real stories that unfold at hospitals on a daily basis, was later made into a video entitled Anna’s Angels .
The video, which was made in collaboration with Horizon Blue Cross, is an award winning video which is now shown across the country in professional and community venues, in order to provoke conversation and awareness of the importance of advance care planning. Click here for an excerpt of the video.
Since the summer of 2011, 44 Atlantic Health System nurses have been trained to show Anna’s Story in the community and facilitate discussion of the issues and feelings the video raises. These nurses are our Anna’s Angels, and they take advance caring planning seriously as witnesses to what happens at the bedside when families are not only shocked and saddened by a loved one’s situation but unprepared to help make the right decisions for them.
Anna’s Angels are available to come to your community venue [churches, schools, community centers, senior centers, book clubs, health clubs etc] to lead a two-hour program of video viewing, discussion, direction to resources and support in filling out advance directive materials.
For further information about the project or advance care planning call:
The Anna’s Angels Hotline
908 598-7906 or email
nancy.gross @atlantichealth.org
Resources to consult right now:
Link to Anna Story Video Excerpt:
National Health Care Decisions Day
Again with Dignity/Five Wishes Advance care Planning Document
http://www.agingwithdignity.org/
New York Times Article March 30th, 2012
