Every day, Carle employees face the immense responsibility of caring for those in need. Yet how to accomplish proactive healthcare is not always spelled out. The care patients desire can at times be unintentionally ambiguous, conflicting or lacking in scope, which may cause patients and those who matter most to them feeling frustrated, unheard, and misunderstood.
This is where Advance Care Planning (ACP) makes a difference. Advance Care Planning helps to fulfill the commitment of being a trusted partner in all healthcare decisions by outlining how patients are cared for as well as helping them make those choices and leading to an overall better experience and goal-concordant care,” said McKayla Weis, Program Supervisor, Advance Care Planning.
Advance Care Planning helps to ensure patients' care preferences are discussed, documented and honored, even in the most challenging circumstances.
For people like Deb C. of Champaign, an advanced care plan is a natural tool in which she makes the decision for her care before someone else has to. “I plan everything I do in my life,” she said. “The plan is a way to ease the transition for my children when the time comes. I would hope others do it to.”
“The breadth of Carle’s Advance Care Planning services grew extensively over the last year. ACP reached more people and created a deeper impact inside the Carle Health System and among patients,” said Weis.
Throughout Central Illinois local communities proclaimed April 16 Healthcare Decisions Day by engaging with city councils to promote and expand understanding of the day. The ACP team was also active at community events, speaking at Champaign County Family Service conference and Disability Expo.
“During the annual Carle Health Foundation Day leadership members also echoed the call for medical professionals to be educated in and embrace advance care planning conversations for their patients,” said Ashley Buckley, Program Coordinator, Advance Care Planning. “To support the growing need for ACP services, Carle Health’s primary care clinics certified 28 employees this year as new ACP Facilitators.”
Employees from various levels of patient care and locations became certified to help patients understand how to make and communicate important care decisions, select a healthcare agent and document their choices.
“Nearly two dozen providers successfully completed training this year through the Serious Illness Conversation program,” said Weis. “The training provides for high-quality standardized communication tools providers can use to speak with patients about serious illness.”
ACP also cultivated use of more inclusive language and reduced barriers for limited English proficiency patients by working with members of the Spanish-speaking community and Carle Translation services to create culturally sensitive Spanish ACP materials and advance directives. Additionally, other languages are set to come in the following year.
“Thanks to innovative technology strategies, ACP opened new patient pathways through virtual group sessions held twice monthly as well as online experiences,” said Buckley. Advance directives may be downloaded from Carle.com/ACP or MyCarle.
“The ACP team remains energized and committed to pursuing goal-concordant care for all as plans unfold for the upcoming year,” said Weis.
For more information, visit Carle.org.
This is where Advance Care Planning (ACP) makes a difference. Advance Care Planning helps to fulfill the commitment of being a trusted partner in all healthcare decisions by outlining how patients are cared for as well as helping them make those choices and leading to an overall better experience and goal-concordant care,” said McKayla Weis, Program Supervisor, Advance Care Planning.
Advance Care Planning helps to ensure patients' care preferences are discussed, documented and honored, even in the most challenging circumstances.
For people like Deb C. of Champaign, an advanced care plan is a natural tool in which she makes the decision for her care before someone else has to. “I plan everything I do in my life,” she said. “The plan is a way to ease the transition for my children when the time comes. I would hope others do it to.”
“The breadth of Carle’s Advance Care Planning services grew extensively over the last year. ACP reached more people and created a deeper impact inside the Carle Health System and among patients,” said Weis.
Throughout Central Illinois local communities proclaimed April 16 Healthcare Decisions Day by engaging with city councils to promote and expand understanding of the day. The ACP team was also active at community events, speaking at Champaign County Family Service conference and Disability Expo.
“During the annual Carle Health Foundation Day leadership members also echoed the call for medical professionals to be educated in and embrace advance care planning conversations for their patients,” said Ashley Buckley, Program Coordinator, Advance Care Planning. “To support the growing need for ACP services, Carle Health’s primary care clinics certified 28 employees this year as new ACP Facilitators.”
Employees from various levels of patient care and locations became certified to help patients understand how to make and communicate important care decisions, select a healthcare agent and document their choices.
“Nearly two dozen providers successfully completed training this year through the Serious Illness Conversation program,” said Weis. “The training provides for high-quality standardized communication tools providers can use to speak with patients about serious illness.”
ACP also cultivated use of more inclusive language and reduced barriers for limited English proficiency patients by working with members of the Spanish-speaking community and Carle Translation services to create culturally sensitive Spanish ACP materials and advance directives. Additionally, other languages are set to come in the following year.
“Thanks to innovative technology strategies, ACP opened new patient pathways through virtual group sessions held twice monthly as well as online experiences,” said Buckley. Advance directives may be downloaded from Carle.com/ACP or MyCarle.
“The ACP team remains energized and committed to pursuing goal-concordant care for all as plans unfold for the upcoming year,” said Weis.
For more information, visit Carle.org.
Categories: Culture of Quality
Tags: Advance, Care, Carle, Community, Health, Healthcare, Planning, Services