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Services

Advance Care Planning

Advance Directive, Long Term Care Plan

The Advance Directive is a legal form established by the Oregon
legislature and written word for word in Oregon Statute.  
Within it are 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 Representative is extremely important and

valuable when there comes a time when an Advanced Directive is necessary to guide the medical staff.

I will work with you to make sure that your Plan represents who you are, your values and how you want your wishes to be honored.  Some of what we may discuss include things such as:

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  • Understanding & documenting your final wishes: Where you'd like to be, your surroundings, the sounds, the people you'd like to be present if any; burial and service details...

  • Confirmation of who you have chosen as your Health Care Representative. Note that children and, or relatives are not always the most appropriate.  There are many factors to consider if you want to feel confident that your wishes will be followed.​

  • Important forms that dictate to medical staff your choice of having treatments that may prolong your life and, or your choices that address your concern for quality of life vs.quantity.  Such forms are the  DNR form (Do Not Resuscitate), and the POLST (Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment). ​

  • Ensuring that the plans you wish to have in place are in accordance with local and national laws and jurisdictions.

  • Completion of any legacy projects​

  • Discussion about VSED (Voluntarily Stop Eating and Drinking), Medical Aid in Dying, organ donation and more.​

  • Assistance in organizing all your documents and getting copies to those who need them.


The planning process helps adults of any age or stage of health understand and share their personal values, life goals and preferences.  And, it is one of valued gifts you can leave for those you love so they know what to do when and if the time comes.

patient advocate

Patient Advocate

As a patient advocate, I are committed to providing professional and compassionate support for older adults. This can include helping older adults navigate the complex healthcare system and understand medical transactions, having critical discussions about treatment plans and interventions to assess the pros and cons.

Often, as we age and in our older years, there can be far too many aggressive treatment procedures that, when given in late life do not benefit an older adult.  Slow medicine can be a more appropriate approach in evaluating how to move forward when a serious and or terminal illness arrives.

End of Life Doula

You may have just received a terminal diagnosis.
Suddenly life as you know it changes for you, your family, your friends, your colleagues. With decades of experience in working with individuals, families, and medical teams to advocate, to support, and guide a
person's end of life wishes, I do what I can in service to help you have the best opportunity to die with grace; to die in peace, and to die as you have wanted. 

Orchid
"One way that Dr. Emanuel suggests we improve end of life care is by starting sooner. 'We need to be willing to acknowledge 6 or 12 months beforehand that a patient is not doing well and that death is going to happen,' he says. This is where doulas can contribute to improving care, because we can work with a patient and family very productively many months to a year before death is likely. When a dying person and family can work on questions of meaning and legacy, the resulting sense of purpose can lessen some of the symptoms that drive dying people to the hospital and acute care units."
 
- Henry Fersko-Weiss of INELDA
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