{"id":15319,"date":"2018-04-16T11:01:25","date_gmt":"2018-04-16T17:01:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/?p=15319"},"modified":"2023-06-23T10:57:15","modified_gmt":"2023-06-23T16:57:15","slug":"seniors-say-when-it-comes-to-advance-care-planning-dont-delay","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uchealth.org\/today\/seniors-say-when-it-comes-to-advance-care-planning-dont-delay\/","title":{"rendered":"Seniors say: When it comes to advance care planning, don\u2019t delay"},"content":{"rendered":"
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National Healthcare Decisions Day is\u00a0a reminder to complete\u00a0Advance Care Planning documents. Photo: Getty Images.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

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National Healthcare Decisions Day is in fact an entire week in April. Think of it as an opportunity to procrastinate a bit and still take care of some of most important documents one can fill out, according to two men who have filled out more than their share in their long, productive lives.<\/p>\n

Lamar Daniels, 83, is combat veteran of the Korean and Vietnam wars who later worked on military radar installations in Alaska. He lives independently in a Colorado Springs senior-living facility now, where he and other veterans swap stories. Daniels happened to pick up a flyer about UCHealth\u2019s Advance Care Planning Program when visiting with UCHealth Memorial Hospital cardiologist Dr. David Rosenbaum and has since become a beneficiary of\u2014as well as an evangelist for\u2014the program.<\/p>\n

Tigrio Guajardo, 79, also a veteran, lives in Aurora with wife Victoria, 80. Spurred on by their participation in an innovative study by UCHealth geriatrician Dr. Hillary Lum, the Guajardos last week got their health care decisions in order.<\/p>\n

Have a plan<\/h3>\n

Advance care planning is about helping ensure that the right people are making the right health care decisions in the event that one can\u2019t make them for oneself. This week, to mark the big \u201cday,\u201d UCHealth\u2019s Advance Care Planning Support Team, in partnership with the Office of Patient Experience and UCH Palliative Care champions and volunteers, will have information tables in the Courtyard Caf\u00e9 and Garden View Caf\u00e9 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. all week.<\/p>\n

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Dr. Hillary Lum, UCHealth geriatrician<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

As the National Healthcare Decisions Day website puts it, \u201cIt always seems too early, until it\u2019s too late.\u201d Lum couldn\u2019t agree more.<\/p>\n

Advance care planning is important for everyone, she said. But older adults \u2013 even those who might prefer not to think about things like medical durable power of attorney and do not resuscitate documents \u2013 are more likely to have serious medical conditions, putting them at a higher risk \u201cfor treatments that don\u2019t match up with their personal goals and wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the wings of a grant from The Colorado Health Foundation, Lum was the driving force behind the 2017 addition of advance care planning information and online documents on UCHealth\u2019s My Health Connection<\/a> online patient portal (to get there, log in using a web browser, go to \u201cMy Record,\u201d and click on \u201cAdvance Care Planning\u201d). Using it, one can:<\/p>\n