Late Life Journey
Services

Advance Care Planning
An advanced directive includes your specific instructions regarding the type of care you want or do not want if you become ill with a condition that leaves you unable to speak for yourself. Careful consideration of who to appoint as your health care advocate is extremely important and valuable when there comes a time when an Advanced Directive is necessary to guide the medical staff. I will meet with you and discuss things such as:
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Your final wishes and to be sure that your documents are completed and that you are making informed choices.
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Forms that express your wishes for life-prolonging treatments that may provide you with quantity vs. quality of life, such as the DNR form (Do Not Resuscitate), or POLST (Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment).
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I can also discuss or provide information about VSED (Voluntarily Stop Eating and Drinking), Medical Aid in Dying, organ donation and more.
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I will assist you with organizing your advance directive, DNR, or living will, and create a binder with all your contact information.

Patient Advocacy
As a patient advocate I help guide clients through the healthcare system:
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Clarifying options on choice for hospitals, doctors and treatments
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Getting information and asking specific questions
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Writing down information and answers to questions for the client
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Accompanying to tests, procedures and appointments with follow up written and/or verbal communication to family members
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Keeping track and monitoring of medications
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Making sure clients’ rights are met
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Solving conflicts and crisis situations with health care professionals and family members
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Hospital visits and wellness checks

Death Doula: End of Life Guide
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Support and assistance for an individual after a terminal diagnosis. This may include things such as patient advocacy, medical visits and comprehensive note taking and organizing schedules, medications, follow ups, reports to family members.
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Assistance with getting one's affairs in order.
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Review and updating Advanced Directives and Durable Powers of Attorney
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Family support and mediation
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Bedside vigil
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Collaboration with Hospice team
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Emotional and spiritual support
Though Death Doulas are not covered by insurance, many people find death doulas an important service, along with hospice or palliative care. Unlike hospice workers, doulas don’t get involved in medical issues. We support clients emotionally, physically, spiritually and practically, stepping in whenever needed. That could be a few days before someone dies, or it could be months or even years earlier, after someone receives a terminal diagnosis.
