More, better, earlier conversations
As an organization, we aspire to live up to our guiding principle, “How you want to be treated.”
Serious illness conversations, as part of Providence’s leading Advance Care Planning work, are one of the ways that we can ensure this is happening.
Last November, we updated our Advance Care Planning / Serious Illness Conversations policy to help ensure that our staff and medical staff understand the importance of these conversations and their role in them.
Serious illness conversations with patients – or with their substitute decision maker – help us to be as in tune with our patient’s wishes as we can be – particularly patients facing life-limiting disease and/or living with serious illness. More, better, earlier conversations is about providing appropriate care to the right person at the right time and knowing what our patients want.
Serious Illness Conversation in-services with direct-care staff also launched this spring, with the goal of providing nurses and other direct care staff with empowering knowledge and tools to support their roles, as described in the policy.
Advance Care Planning is meant to be a fluid process and as we continue with this important work, we are looking forward to working together with patients and loved ones to move the dial on engaging in these conversations.
