Sharing wishes about care through the end of life is difficult for family caregivers and for the older adults they help. Although it’s never a good time to talk about the way we want to live through the end of our lives, is a medical or family emergency a better time? Perhaps now is the best time to start these difficult conversations. Conversation Ready NTX* is a public initiative to encourage people to discuss and share their wishes for end-of-life care. The best place for this to begin is at the kitchen table—not in the intensive care unit—with the people who matter most to us, before it’s too late. The conversations can help everyone, especially older adults. The conversations can start small so that wishes can be understood and respected when the time comes.
Download this “How to” list of websites, tools, guidebooks, and video links provided by Laurie Miller, Owner and Administrator, Apple Care and Companion, during her Caregiver Teleconnection session titled, Conversation Ready: Essential Conversations.
Did you know….
- 92% of Americans say it’s important to discuss their wishes for end-of-life care, but only 32% have had such a conversation.
- 95% of Americans say they would be willing to talk about their wishes, and
- 53% even say they’d be relieved to discuss it
The Conversation Project National Survey, 2018
*Modeled after the Conversation Project®, began in 2010 when Pulitzer Prize-winning writer Ellen Goodman and a group of colleagues and concerned media, clergy, and medical professionals gathered to share stories of “good deaths” and “hard deaths” within their own circle of loved ones.
