Advance healthcare planning: A gift to your future self
Curious intellects, problem solvers, and deeply in sync after 40 years of marriage, Salinas-based retired attorneys Shirley Paiz and Glen Wallace always approach life’s big decisions with care and intention.
So back in 2009, when they were both 62, they checked a major item off their to-do list: they filled out “durable power of attorney for healthcare” forms, which are legal documents that say who should make medical decisions for you if you can’t speak for yourself.
Joy Smith, RN, leads Montage Health’s advance healthcare planning workshop.
But fast-forward 16 years, and they learned those trusty old forms weren’t nearly as complete as they thought. They can thank Joy Smith for that eye-opening realization.
Smith leads Montage Health’s free advance healthcare planning workshop that walks participants through the process of documenting their medical preferences before a debilitating health crisis occurs.
The workshop asks the question: If you were seriously injured or ill and couldn’t speak for yourself, would your loved ones — or your doctors — know what you want?
“Joy’s workshop helped us realize that we didn’t actually spell out the end-of-life details that mattered most,” Paiz says, “like how we want to be kept comfortable, to what extent we want to be kept alive, or even what music we want playing at the end.”
Together, Paiz and Wallace updated their end-of-life wishes — everything from medical interventions to music preferences (Andrea Bocelli for Paiz, please) and personal touches like Paiz’s request for the presence of lavender. And they chose a secondary medical decision-maker, a close friend in her 50s, should they both be unable to act.
Documenting your wishes with an advance directive
If I’m no longer aware of who I am or who I love, I don’t want to just exist. I want those around me to know that and feel peace honoring it. — Glen Wallace, advance healthcare planning workshop participant
At the center of the advance healthcare planning workshop is a legal document known as an advance directive that empowers people to do two things:
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Document your medical preferences, including what treatments you do or don’t want, what “quality of life” means to you, and what your care goals are if your health declines
Workshop participants walk through:
With an advance directive, your doctors have clear, written guidance, and your loved ones don’t have to guess what you want in a medical crisis.
“I’ve lived a full, rich life, especially these last four decades with Shirley,” Wallace says. “If I’m no longer aware of who I am or who I love, I don’t want to just exist. I want those around me to know that and feel peace honoring it.”
Attend a workshop
Montage Health’s in-person and online advance healthcare planning workshops are free and open to the public. You can also request a workshop at your church group, book club, or other community group or event.
