By Cara Abubakar, Certified Concierge Care Advisor
Coming from the clinical world of physicians, I know there is an absolute need for keeping our patients safe in their own home. I previously worked in a residency primary care clinic. While at the primary care clinic, I noticed that there was a surprising amount of high-risk patients and seniors that did not have updated documents in their medical chart. These documents include Power of Attorney, POLST, Living Will, and Advance Directives – which is crucial information to have updated, especially during an emergency.
I enrolled and completed training as an Advance Care Facilitator and was able to successfully assist many patients complete these forms. It is very important to update your advanced care planning forms at least every 5 years, should a life altering event occur. Your primary care physician and any other medical provider you see should have a copy of these forms on file. In order to decrease the stress and last-minute decision making, it is beneficial for patients and their family members to have these plans in place prior to a crisis.
CCA’s main goal is to keep people out of the emergency room. We are partnering with physicians at local medical clinics and hospitals in hopes of expanding awareness of our free resources and housing referral services. We are doing what we can to assist with keeping seniors out of the hospital, so that they may age gracefully in their own way and in their own home.
I am so proud to work for CCA, an amazing company that provides free resources to vulnerable seniors in the community. CCA is a HIPAA compliant agency. Our clients are treated professionally with the upmost respect and dignity as we navigate the healthcare system together. I look forward to expanding my knowledge on senior resources in Thurston County and being able to utilize those resources to help our community.
Take the opportunity this holiday season to discuss advance care directives with your loved ones. We know these conversations can be tough, but long term it will truly benefit everyone to know what your final wishes are.
For further information about these forms, please click on the following hyperlinks:
- Advanced Directives & Power of Attorney for Healthcare
- Power of Attorney for Finances
- Physician Orders for Life Saving Treatments (POLST)
- Living Will
