Advanced Directives

National Healthcare Decisions Week a Great Time to Start Conversations

April 13, 2017 by TRU Community Care

When it comes to end-of-life care, talking matters. Wise words from our friends at The Conversation Project. National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is an initiative of this project, and this year it’s celebrated for an entire week April 16-22. Dedicated to helping people talk about their end-of-life wishes, both the project and NHDD function as a conduit and resource for bringing people together so that their wishes can be recorded in writing.

Consider this fact:

90% of people say that talking with their loved ones about end-of-life care is important, but 27% have actually done so. – The Conversation Project National Survey 2013

We at TRU encourage you to have these important conversations with family members, loved ones, and your medical providers. Talk about your values, about what matters to you, as well as the Five Wishes:

The person you want to make care decisions for you when you can’t
The kind of medical treatment you do or don’t want
How comfortable you want to be
How you want people to treat you
What you want your loved ones to know

If you’d like a copy of the Five Wishes or the Your Right to Make Healthcare Decisions brochure, they are available at our office. Please contact us at 303.442.0961 | 877.986.4766 for more information.

Movie highlight: “Way to Go: Death and the Irish”

April 18, 2016 by TRU Community Care

As those involved in hospice know very well, death is something few in our society want to talk about or acknowledge, yet it is a certainty. Why bother talking about it at all? In this the documentary, filmmaker Norah Casey explores Ireland’s relationship with death, speaking to healthcare professionals as well as people with terminal illnesses who share their thoughts on the last months of their lives. The film also includes contributions from well-known figures such as Gabriel Byrne, broadcasters Marian Finucane and George Hook, plus comments from members of the Irish public.
Check out this thought-provoking piece meant to promote open discussion on the topics of death and dying, as it has as much to say to Boulder County as it does to Ireland. It may seem too early – until it’s too late.

National Healthcare Decisions Day

April 16, 2015 by TRU Community Care

TRU Community Care, along with other national, state and community organizations, are highlighting the importance of advance health care decision making – an effort that has culminated in the formal designation of April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).

As a participating organization, we are providing information and tools for you to talk about your wishes with your family, friends and health care providers, as well as executing written advance directives. These resources are available at www.nhdd.org.

As a result of National Healthcare Decisions Day, many more people in our community can be expected to have thoughtful conversations about their health care decisions and complete reliable advance directives to make their wishes known. Fewer families and heath care providers will have to struggle with making difficult health care decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient.

Advance care planning allows consumers to make medical care decisions by considering those decisions ahead of time and letting others know about their end-of-life care decisions.

For more information about National Healthcare Decisions Day, please visit www.nhdd.org. You can also contact us for more information on advanced directives by calling 303.449.7740 or emailing info@trucare.org.

Advance Directives Flyer 2015

National Healthcare Decisions Day 2015

April 9, 2015 by TRU Community Care

We invite you to join us in this years National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16^th. This date was purposely chosen to illustrate the point about the two inevitable things in life: death and taxes. We are often unaware of the multitude of decisions that may come into play if we are suddenly stricken by an accident or illness. Having documents and understandings in place that help our loved ones support our choices is critical, both legally and personally.

Advance Directives…

Allow you to retain control over what happens to you
Empower your loved ones with clear directions
Help medical personnel understand what you want
Support your loved ones in being able to focus on what is most important.

There are Starter Kits and advance directive documents available online, or you can visit the exhibits at Boulder Community Health and Longmont United Hospital between the hours of 11am-1pm. For more information on the importance choosing a decision-maker and having a conversation, please visit www.nhdd.org.

Advance Directives Flyer 2015

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