Consider the conversation: Support available
for health care conversations and planning
N
o one knows when
an unexpected
illness or accident
might leave them unable
to make their own medical
decisions.
If you were in a situation
where doctors believed
there was little chance you
would recover the ability to
know who you are, would you
want to continue treatment?
Or would you prefer that
your caregivers focus on
keeping you comfortable?
Have you talked about your
preferences with the people
close to you?
Even if you have docu-
mented your preferences,
your wishes are much more
likely to be honored if they
are accompanied by con-
versations with those you
choose to make health care
decisions for you. These
can be difficult discussions.
Fortunately, help is
available. Honoring Your
Wishes is a communitywide
advance care planning
initiative. Through this
program, certified facilita-
tors are available to have
conversations about your
future health care wishes.
Facilitators can also as-
sist you in completing an
advance directive document
that helps you to clearly
define your health care
preferences in writing.
To schedule an advance
care planning appoint-
ment, call Mercy On Call
at
319-358-2767
or Iowa
City Senior Center at
319-356-5220
.
Envision the
IMPACT
you can have . . .
Tom Kenefick
ENVISIONED THE IMPACT
he could have by directing gifts to support Cancer
Care Services during his lifetime and through his estate.
THANKS TO HIS VISION
of the future, patients receiving treatment for cancer at Mercy have
support from the Tom and Betsy Kenefick Fund for Cancer Services.
Like Tom, your estate gift will help patients and families. Gifts can be made through:
u
A charitable bequest in your will or trust
u
A beneficiary designation in your IRA, retirement plan, annuity or life insurance
u
A life income gift—a Charitable Gift Annuity or Charitable Remainder Trust
WHAT IS YOUR VISION?
Contact Margaret N. Reese,
President,
Mercy Hospital Foundation,
319-358-2622 or
.
Or visit the website:
Betsy and Tom Kenefick
F
H
CARE AT THE END OF LIFE:
HOW HOSPICE CAN HELP
FROM THE DAY
we enter this world until the day we
leave it, specialized medical care can make our journey
easier.
For people near the end of life, this care is o en provided
through hospice, a program that strives to bring comfort
and peace to terminally ill patients and their families.
TAILORED TEAMWORK
Most medical care focuses
on extending the quantity of life. Hospice focuses on
improving quality of life. One of its main goals is to
control pain and other symptoms so that terminally
ill people can live as fully as possible in the time they
have remaining.
Generally, those receiving hospice care are expected to
live six months or less. ey’ve chosen to end treatments
aimed at curing their disease. But they do receive sup-
port that can make them more comfortable—physically,
psychologically and spiritually.
is support is delivered by a team of hospice profes-
sionals. According to the National Hospice and Palliative
Care Organization, that team may include a person’s
primary care physician, a hospice physician or both;
nurses; home health aides; social workers; and counselors
or spiritual advisors.
Together, the hospice team develops a plan of care
tailored to each person’s speci c needs. en they work
with that person’s family members, who typically serve
as primary caregivers. Should the need arise, members
of the team are available to o er assistance hours a
day, days a week.
As an added bene t, hospice sta stay in contact with
a person’s family a er he or she has died. ey o er sup-
port to the family through the grieving process.
April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day, a
nationwide initiative to encourage individuals to
express their health care wishes and for providers,
family and friends to follow them. The Iowa City
Senior Center and Honoring Your Wishes will show
the Emmy-nominated documentary:
Consider the Conversation 2: Stories
about Cure, Relief, and Comfort
Thursday, April 16, 6:30 p.m.
Iowa City Senior Center Assembly Room
All are invited to learn about the importance of
health care conversations. To reserve your seat,
contact Emily Light at
319-356-5224
or
For more information, visit
www.honoringyour
wishes.org
.
Finding a hospice
M
ercy Iowa City provides hospice care and a
supportive atmosphere in its six-bed Hospice
Unit. The spacious, homelike patient rooms
accommodate family members who want to spend the
night or just spend time together. For more information,
call the Hospice Unit at
319-339-3960
.
W I N T E R / S P R I N G 2 0 1 5
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W E L L
A W A R E
