ADVANCE CARE
Advance Care Planning is for Everyone Are you Ready to Help?
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ust like estate planning or financial planning, advance care planning (ACP) for health care and personal care is an important pillar in overall life planning. Legal professionals like Notaries are a valued source of information and guidance when it comes to all kinds of life planning. BC Centre for Palliative Care has many easy-touse resources when it comes to advance care planning, to help every step of the way.
Kathy Sheng
considerations for advance care planning. Knowing that the loss of decision-making capability in the advanced stages of dementia is more certain, the person has a finite window of time to maximize advance care planning options. Although advance care planning can benefit everyone, regardless of age or health, it’s especially important for people living with serious illnesses such as dementia to begin the process
dvance Care Planning A is for Everyone The Centre is making advance care planning resources more accessible through a series of ambitious projects. ACP resources have been culturally adapted and translated into Punjabi, Traditional Chinese, and Simplified Chinese to serve some of the largest cultural groups in the province and work is underway to adapt and translate the resources into Hindi. The Centre has also adapted its resources to the growing population of people who are living with the early stages of dementia, and their family and friends. There are unique Volume 30, Number 3, Winter 2021
as soon as possible. People with dementia can prepare for their future care and stay involved in decision-making through advance care planning, especially when they are supported by the people they trust. The Scrivener | www.bcnotaryassociation.ca
Resources The Centre has a comprehensive suite of resources designed to take you and your clients through all aspects of advance care planning and offers general information about advance care planning in English, Punjabi, Simplified Chinese, and Traditional Chinese. Resources for individuals: especially older adults (65+ are most at risk for dementia) and people living with early stages of dementia: • My Wishes, My Care: Advance Care Planning Information Booklet walks clients through the three steps of advance care planning, Think, Talk, Plan. The booklet also contains a flowchart illustrating how health-care decisions are made in BC, and checklist of resources to help individuals get started on their advance care plans. • W hat you need to know about standard representation agreements (section 7): Guide to understanding the standard representation agreement.
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