Advance Care Planning Facilitator Share his thoughts

For a recent article, I was asked to write for an employee newsletter, I shared an interview with one of our advanced care facilitators, Aaron Vanman, MSW, LCSW. Care planning facilitators in advance are officially trained in advance of care planning practices and help to walk our patients and families throughout the decision -making process. Aaron’s story offers a unique view of the process of planning advanced care and its importance in health care, so I thought I would share it with you.

The interview

As a medical social worker with OSF Home Care Services in Rockford, Illinois, I started to advance care planning 22 years ago. However, it was only when I followed the training planning for advanced care with the OSF care decisions program that I thought I could effectively help patients and their families. The discussion in the OSF care decisions program is much more than filling out the medical proxy form; This is an examination of his values ​​and beliefs concerning end -of -life issues.

The discussion on OSF care decisions guarantees that the family or friends of an individual really know what the wishes of this person are; Family members will not have to try to interpret these wishes of a medical form alone.

I have up to five sessions for planning advanced care per week through the OSF Home Care and the OSF Medical Group. I regularly see family members who are surprised to discover what are the wishes of their beloved. I find a lot of confusion on directive options, including the will of life and medical proxy.

I can also educate them on the law on the substitution of health, supervision and the order of resuscitation. The families I meet have responded to the educational tools provided in the model of OSF care decisions. They often have questions about organ donation and planning of successions and funerals. I share with them the information I have on these subjects and I refer it elsewhere when it is requested.

The comments I received on the OSF care decisions program were phenomenal. I have heard patients and their families say that discussions have helped to facilitate that other family members to become more educated as well as to supplement their own advanced directives.

This free service for our patients and their families is so important. Even when patients cannot articulate this, I see how true it is. A patient with whom I worked on planning advanced care was in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease and the discussion with her family was sometimes quite emotional.

It was important for the patient that her family follows her wishes even after the moment when she is no longer aware of her state or her health changes. It just seemed to her that she could have defined detailed instructions and preferences so that her decisions were followed long after being able to do them.

These are patients like this one who help me achieve what an important part of the planning of advanced care of the OSF mission really is.

Last update: November 6, 2018