Health and Wellness

April is Advance Care Planning Awareness Month, with National Healthcare Decisions Day happening annually on April 16th

Advance care planning (ACP) is a process of coming to understand, reflect on, discuss and plan for a time when you cannot make your own medical decisions.

The Greater Flint Health Coalition’s Your Health Your Choice Advance Care Planning Project is collaborating with community partners in recognizing the importance of advance care planning in April.

Advance care planning is more important now than ever, given the uncertain times and unexpected health challenges many individuals have faced over the past year. Individuals of all ages, races, and health statuses have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted just how important it is to plan for your future healthcare decisions in case you are unable to make them on your own.

“Honoring one’s wishes is a sign of respect and acknowledging what is most important when it comes to
health.” Diane Welker, nurse practitioner, Hurley Medical Center said.

Going through the advance care planning process can help your loved ones know your preferences and wishes should you no longer be able to speak for yourself.

National Healthcare Decisions Day is intended to inspire, educate, and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning. The Your Health Your Choice Advance Care Planning Project is dedicating the week of April 12th to shed light on the importance of advance care planning and provide community residents with educational resources and information for completing their own advance directives.

Join the Greater Flint Health Coalition’s Your Health Your Choice Advance Care Planning Project and Community Partners for a virtual advance care planning outreach week through April 16th. During this week, individuals will have the opportunity to attend educational webinars, gain an understanding of what advance care planning is, learn
about local resources available to answer questions and help individuals fill out their own advance directive and more.

For more information about advance care planning, please visit http://www.yourhealthyourchoice.org and tune into the Greater Flint Health Coalition’s Facebook page.

About the Your Health Your Choice Advance Care Planning Project
Your Health Your Choice is an initiative of the Greater Flint Health Coalition (GFHC) in partnership with Genesee County healthcare providers including Ascension Genesys Hospital, Hurley Medical Center, McLaren Flint, Valley Area Agency on Aging, Hamilton Community Health Network, Oak Street Health, Geriatric Social Workers of Southeast
Michigan, Professional Medial Corporation and local insurers including Unitedhealthcare Community Plan, Meridian Health Plan and Molina Healthcare of Michigan. It is focused on developing a shared, community-wide process for advance care planning that creates effective methods to honor the informed healthcare decisions of patients that respect each patient’s rights while: a) providing comfort and dignity during end-of-life care, b) increasing
the patient’s participation in decisions regarding medical care before and at the end of lifeand c) ensuring a record reflecting patients’ healthcare decisions is available when needed across Genesee County health systems and provider sites. For more information on the Your Health Your Choice Advance Care Planning Project visit http://www.gfhc.org/advance-careplanning-your-health-your-choice/.

About the Greater Flint Health Coalition
Established in 1996, the Greater Flint Health Coalition is a Flint, Michigan-based non-profit organization and partnership between Genesee County hospitals, physicians, business, insurers, public health professionals, policymakers, government leaders, educators, organized labor, community organizations, residents and all those concerned about the well-being of our community and its residents. The two-fold mission of the Greater Flint
Health Coalition is to improve the health status of Genesee County residents and the quality and cost-effectiveness of the health care system in the community. For more information on the Greater Flint Health Coalition visit www.gfhc.org.

Related posts

Study Says Suicide Among Black Teens is Rising

editor

Hamilton Continues Free Insurance Enrollment Assistance during Open Enrollment

editor

Flint makes history with launch of Rx Kids: enrollment opens

Tanya

Leave a Comment

This website uses cookies to improve your experience. We'll assume you're ok with this, but you can opt-out if you wish. Accept Read More