OMC in pilot program on end-of-life choices

Published 2:08 pm Tuesday, December 29, 2015

Olympic Medical Center was selected to participate in the first cohort to implement Honoring Choices Pacific Northwest, a program to facilitate conversations about advance care planning.

The program includes guidance and tools to discuss and plan for a person’s future health care decisions so those wishes will be honored.

“One of the most important conversations you can have with your health care provider and family is about what kind of care you want if you should become critically ill or are unable to speak for yourself,” said Lorraine Wall, RN, chief nursing officer of OMC.

“We want to make sure our patients are cared for in the way that they want, but that can be difficult if patients and physicians haven’t made time to discuss the topic. Our goal with this planning program is to make that conversation easier, so patients can receive care that is consistent with their personal goals and values.”

Honoring Choices Pacific Northwest provides resources for the public about how to have these conversations with health care providers and loved ones, as well as how to plan for end-of-life care.

“Too often, we witness children struggling to guess and agree on what their ailing parent would want,” says Wall. “And as providers who instinctually want to heal patients and help them carry on, it can be difficult to lead children through these decisions. If we learn how to navigate these issues, we can improve the lives of both patients and families, while honoring patient wishes.”

OMC was selected to be in the first group or organizations that will receive training and consulting and it will integrate this advance care planning program throughout the local medical system.

For more information, visit HonoringChoicesPNW.org.