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As an attorney, you have particular potential to help folks think and talk about their health care goals and wishes. This makes you in synch with National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), a grassroots initiative now in its 6th year which encourages people to do just this. (April 16, the day after tax day, is designated as it’s in keeping with Ben Franklin’s adage that nothing is certain “except death and taxes.”)
National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD)
Given your busy schedule, here are some straightforward things to choose from to help others focus just a bit on advance care planning. Some are purely altruistic. Others have marketing potential built in.
- Lead by example: Create or update your own advance directive. Talk with your family about your wishes if you haven’t. (Talking about theirs, too, is even better!)
- Take your staff’s pulse. Have your staff take a quick, anonymous survey of whether they’ve done any thinking about their wishes or completed an advance directive and why or why not. For a short survey, email me. (Your staff may be a good barometer of what your clients are thinking.)
- Encourage your staff to do basic advance care planning. Facilitate an informal conversation among staff about their own questions and their wishes. Maybe bring in lunch to help spur the talking. Have advance directive forms available and have a witnessing party when they sign.
- Offer clients tools to help them talk to their families. The Conversation Project’s Starter Kit includes great ideas for how to open the conversation, along with guidance for talking with their doctor. To introduce a little levity, try suggesting a special deck of cards to spur the conversation. The best ones I’ve found are Heart2Hearts and Go Wish (also has an online version).
- Pass this post on to your colleagues via the listserv of your bar association or estate planning council.
- Engage one member of the media. Contact one health reporter from your local newspaper or TV station and offer yourself as an expert for a story. (The NHDD website has a media kit.) Or, submit an article or op-ed to your local paper (use the NHDD standard template, or contact me for one specifically designed for estate planning and elder law attorneys).
- Reach out to one religious leader in your community (perhaps your own, if relevant). Use the email template in the list of NHDD Tools. Provide links to: the Conversation Project to help parishioners/congregants get started; your state’s online advance directive form; and to the Faith Leader’s Initiative of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC).
Let me know if I can be of any assistance.
Randi J. Siegel,MBA, is the President of DocuBank(docubank.com), the largest advance directives registry in the U.S., which ensures that the emergency information and healthcare directives of its 200,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. A member of the Center for Advocacy for the Rights and Interests of the Elderly, the International Society of Advance Care Planning, and the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, she is active in health education and public engagement related to advance care planning and advance directives and serves as Pennsylvania liaison to the National Healthcare Decisions Day initiative. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.
Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
It’s appropriate this blog post is appearing on April 16, National Healthcare Decisions Day. The initiative is designed to encourage individuals to prepare and discuss their advance medical directives. Advance directives enable families to know what kind of care is desired, should a loved one become ill and not be able to communicate.
Studies indicate 73% of Americans would prefer to die at home, but up to 50% die in hospital settings. It takes courage and determination to carry out a loved one’s wishes for end-of-life care. Knowing what those wishes are and discussing them is the first step.
If a family member says he or she wants to die at home, I recommend the following books for those caring for a dying loved one. The links in the titles (in color) take you directly to the corresponding Amazon.com page.
Coming Home: A Practical and Compassionate Guide to Caring for a Dying Loved One by Deborah Duda
Coming Home provides end-of-life care guidance that helps the reader acknowledge feelings of fear and guilt, and transform them with love. It provides helpful resources and practical information on preparing the home, talking openly about dying, legal and medical considerations, and how to be with someone in their final days. The book was first published in 1981 and the fourth edition came out in 2010.
The Last Gifts: Creative Ways to Be with the Dying by Jillian Brasch, OTR
The Last Gifts shares 17 first-hand accounts by an occupational therapist in a hospice program and her work with dying patients. Jillian Brasch details ways to help family be present and comfortable and help the dying patient to meet their final goals. Written for anyone in the vicinity of a dying person, this award-winning book is practical and insightful, with a direct simplicity that makes it entertaining and easy to read.
Dying the RIGHT Way: A System of Caregiving & Planning for Families by Janice Louise Long
While the title lacks appeal, Dying the RIGHT Way provides a lot of good information. The book draws upon the author’s experiences caring for her parents during their final four years. It is a guide for keeping elders or others requiring long-term care healthy as long as possible. The caregiving information includes tips, forms, checklists, and questions to ask. It also provides guidance for funeral planning and steps toward settling an estate.
The Needs of the Dying: A Guide for Bringing Hope, Comfort, and Love to Life’s Final Chapter by David Kessler
The Needs of the Dying uses comforting and touching stories to provide information that helps meet the needs of families and a dying loved one. David Kessler, a student and coauthor with Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, identifies key areas of concern for the dying: the need to be treated as a living human being, the need for hope, expressing emotions, participating in care, the need for honesty, spirituality and to be free of physical pain.
Any of these books can foster the conversations we need to have with our families on National Healthcare Decisions Day – or any other day, for that matter.
Gail Rubin is a Certified Celebrant who brings light to a dark subject and helps get funeral planning conversations started. Her book, A Good Goodbye: Funeral Planning for Those Who Don’t Plan to Die, has won multiple awards. Learn more at www.AGoodGoodbye.com. Gail is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog. Contact: 505-265-7215 or email Gail@AGoodGoodbye.com.
Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Today is exactly one week before National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), April 16. The sole purpose of this grassroots initiative (now in its 5th year) is to encourage folks to do their own advance care planning.
I’ve blogged here previously about ways you can use NHDD to help both your firm and your community (see Do Well by Doing Good and Put April 16 On Your Marketing Calendar).
This year to honor NHDD, I recommend we all lead by example. In other words, let’s start closer to home — with ourselves, our families, and our staff.
- Complete an advance directive.
Think you’re the only attorney in this field who doesn’t have one? Not so; you’re in surprisingly good company! But it’s time to practice what we preach. If you don’t have your advance directive yet, just do it. We all urge clients to create these documents because they’re so important, and it’s time we take our own advice!
- Make sure your immediate family all have advance directives.
I’ve talked with two estate planning attorneys who have personally experienced the HIPAA Horror Story: when their children were hospitalized while away at college, the emergency staff refused to tell each of them anything about their child by phone without a HIPAA Release (neither “young adult” child had one). It’s a parent’s nightmare. Yet, it’s easily preventable. As an attorney, you have the document access necessary to easily protect your family. Make sure that your spouse/significant other, your grown children, and your young adult children over 18 have all signed at least a HCPOA and a HIPAA Release.
- Protect your staff.
As you know, your clients appreciate that you got them to create their advance directives by automatically including them in your planning. Sometimes, your staff needs the same kind of push — to create the vital documents that they, too, might rather avoid thinking about. You’re in a unique position to help them protect themselves. Completing their own advance directives is also a good way for your staff to understand more about your firm’s services and to have a taste of your clients’ experience. Some firms actually strongly encourage all staff members to create their estate plans (courtesy of the firm) for this reason.
- Review existing directives.
So you, your family, your staff – everyone – has an advance directive. Great! But it’s not enough to just have them. They need to be kept relevant. Your firm has its own schedule of review for your clients’ documents; why not for yours, as well? Consider reviewing documents for yourself, family, and staff on the same schedule as your firm’s client review cycle. Additionally, Charlie Sabatino, J.D., Director of the ABA’s Commission on Law and Aging, suggests these “5 D’s” as triggers for review of the advance directive: Death of a family member or friend; Divorce; a significant Decline in one’s condition; a new Diagnosis; and each new Decade.
- Talk to Loved Ones about Your Wishes
I’ve blogged about this many times before: this step is just as important as writing directives. Talk about your wishes with your family once a year. NHDD (April 16) is a good time – it gives you a reason and place to begin the discussion. Thanksgiving can be an even better time, especially if most of your extended family is together. Regardless of the day you choose, let’s make sure we all talk about our wishes, and encourage others to do the same.
Randi J. Siegel, MBA, is the President of DocuBank (docubank.com), the largest advance directives registry in the U.S., which ensures that the healthcare directives of its 190,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. She is active in health policy pertaining to advance directives and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jefferson School of Population Health in Philadelphia. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.
Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Newly released online: a short video encouraging Americans to think about their health care wishes.
Accompanied by moving music, it aims to reach the viewer emotionally as well as intellectually ― more so than I’ve seen in other video pieces on this topic. In fact, its tone reminds me a bit of the emotional ASPCA ads similarly-produced with only music, text and photos.
You might find this 3-minute piece useful to share with clients. It could be viewed in your office while clients wait for their initial consult, as homework before clients complete their healthcare directives with you, or during an educational presentation you might give in your community.
This video might also be an interesting way to reach out to existing clients at the holiday season. While your clients have obviously already completed their directives, it’s just as important that they talk about their wishes with their loved ones. And while this can be hard for them to do, it can be a tremendously important gift to their families. A short video like this to share with loved ones might give them a tool to start the conversation.
The National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) initiative is hosting this video on its website (on the homepage) and adapted it for national use, as another vehicle to encourage advance care planning.
If you have any tools or ideas that you use to help clients have this conversation with their loved ones, please let me know.
Randi J. Siegel, MBA, is the President of DocuBank (docubank.com), the largest advance directive registry in the U.S., which ensures that the healthcare directives of its 190,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. She is active in health policy pertaining to advance directives and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jefferson School of Population Health in Philadelphia. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.
Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
9444 Balboa Avenue, Suite 300
San Diego, California 92123
Phone: (858) 453-2128
www.aaepa.com
Here’s an early heads-up about an opportunity to do well by doing good!
The next annual National Healthcare Decisions Day is Saturday, April 16, 2011.
This initiative is geared to educating the public about the importance of making one’s healthcare wishes known. The ABA and NAELA, along with other national legal organizations, have already joined the 3-year-old effort.
NHDD is a great opportunity to make yourself better known in your community as an expert on this topic by volunteering your services.
With about 5 months till NHDD 2011, there’s plenty of time to start doing any of the following:
- Talk to your NHDD state liaison about volunteer opportunities that may already exist for NHDD. To find your state liaison, email me (I’m a liaison for Pennsylvania), or click here for the list of participating organizations, then find the tab called “State Liaisons” (this latter approach is a little clunky, which is why I’m offering to forward it to you)
- Register with NHDD 2011 as a participant to show your support for this initiative. No money required. Just click here.
- Volunteer to speak about advance directives at a community group as part of NHDD activities. Hospitals are often the best place to start. But in addition, there’s your local AARP chapter, senior center, library, assisted living facility, churches and other religious organizations. Don’t forget to add it to your C.V. under community activities.
I’ll be mentioning this NHDD marketing opportunity again before next April, but I wanted to give you a head start now so you can get it on your marketing calendar and do some real planning.
For more information on NHDD, visit www.nhdd.org or contact me at 610-667-3524 or rsiegel@docubank.com.
Randi J. Siegel, MBA, is the President of DocuBank, the largest advance directive registry in the U.S., which ensures that the healthcare directives of its 175,000 enrollees are immediately available 24/7/365. Working with estate planning professionals since 1997, Randi frequently speaks at national estate planning conferences and has appeared on radio and television as an authority on registries. She is active in health policy pertaining to advance directives and serves as a Senior Fellow at the Jefferson School of Population Health in Philadelphia. Randi is an ongoing contributor to the Academy blog.
Academy Guest Blogger
American Academy of Estate Planning Attorneys, Inc.
6050 Santo Rd., Ste. 240
San Diego, CA 92124
858-453-2128
www.aaepa.com
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