Speak Up: Growing Initiative for Advanced Illness Planning

Posted by on Dec 16, 2011 in News | 0 comments

National Healthcare Decisions Day, which occurs on April 16, annually, exists to inspire, educate, and empower the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning.  Most recently, NHDD has launched this powerful, short video that was “donated” by the Canadian National Advance Care Planning Day effort.

NHDD was borne out of Virginia Advance Directives Day in 2006, which enjoyed participation by every single hospital in Virginia (along with a host of other providers and organizations). After 2007, with another year of 100% participation by state hospitals, the Virginia experience was used as a model to launch NHDD in 2008.

NHDD Growth

2008

2011
National Participants

76

110
State/Local Participants

391

1,200
Facility/Member Participants

200,000

2.2 Million
Public Participants

30,000

1 Million
Advance Directives Executed

5,300

17,500

NHDD is great for many reasons.  Among others, it has resulted in wonderful collaborative efforts within communities and among organizations that might not have occurred otherwise.  NHDD is also great because it is flexible.  There is no cost to participate and there is no required way in which to participate—in fact, creativity is encouraged.  Among other things, the ways in which to participate in NHDD include:

  • First and foremost, lead by example…be sure you have thoughtfully considered and made your own healthcare decisions known.
  • Next, make sure everyone in your organization is informed about NHDD (including staff, board of directors, volunteers and others) and ask for their involvement to promote NHDD in your community.
  • Partner with other local organizations to promote NHDD. You will reach and benefit more people if you do this with others than alone!
  • Distribute NHDD promotional materials and advance care planning educational brochures at upcoming community events or health fairs.
  • Provide a link on your organizational Web site to www.nhdd.org.  This is a national Web site with a variety of information for the public and providers on advance care planning.
  • Follow NHDD in the social media world: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn

Among other things, the NHDD website offers a host of resources for both the public and providers, including an insightful blog that offers a variety of perspectives on advance care planning issues.

Ideally, all CTAC participants will participate in NHDD in one way or another, and vice versa.  If you haven’t done so already, confirm your participation in NHDD by clicking here.

We’re in this together, with a lot of work to be done.  The more we can collaborate, the better.

 

Other ways to get involved:

  • Set up an exhibit about NHDD at your main entrance and offer information about advance care planning as people come by.
  • Partner with other local organizations to promote NHDD. You will reach and benefit more people if you do this with others than alone!
  • Distribute NHDD promotional materials and advance care planning educational brochures at upcoming community events or health fairs.
  • Sponsor a community event or “town hall’ meeting about advance care planning. Big events are more likely to generate media coverage than small presentations and they offer an opportunity for more in-depth dialogue with your community. (Suggestion: Ask your local bar association and healthcare organizations for volunteer speakers and/or ask local politicians to attend and publicly sign their own advance directive.)
  • Partner with local retail businesses by asking them to place a promotional flyer about NHDD in every bag.
  • Send out a press release about your NHDD activities and/or events to your local media.
  • Publish an Op Ed, letter to the editor or a feature story about the importance of advance care planning in your local newspaper.
  • Print advertisements in your local newspaper or other local publications, resource guides and newsletters about NHDD activities. (Suggestion: Ask to print the advertisements as public service announcements and see if they will also publish a copy of your state’s advance directive form.)
  • Offer to provide a guest-speaker on health-related radio or TV programs about advance care planning and NHDD.
  • Distribute flyers about NHDD in local physician offices and other strategic locations such as elevators in public buildings.
  • Distribute information to patients at healthcare facilities with their mid-day meal.
  • Encourage your state leaders to establish a state-sanctioned, secure on-line advance directive registry.
  • Mention NHDD in your organization’s/facility’s telephone on-hold recording.
  • Be creative about the topic of advance care planning.

 

 

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