As a caregiver, at some point you will need to have a discussion with your loved one about their wishes for the end of life. This can be a challenging conversation for emotional reasons. But it can also present challenges logistically, since there is so much to go over. To help you get started, here are some important end-of-life medical questions to ask.
- Have you declared an individual to receive power of attorney? Has the appropriate documentation been completed?
- Have you appointed a healthcare power of attorney? Is it the same person, or a different person? Have you done separate paperwork to establish the healthcare power of attorney?
- Are there other family members or friends that you want to be involved in your care?
- Have you completed a living will? What are your wishes for your health if you are unable to speak for yourself?
- Do you have a long term care plan? Has it been formalized in any way? What does it consist of?
- Where do you prefer to live as you age? What about if you can no longer take care of yourself?
- Where do you prefer to be when you die?
- Do you have, or want to have, a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order? Where do you have a copy of the order? Who among family and friends is aware of the DNR? Who still needs to be informed?
- What are your feelings about assisted living? What would you be looking for in an assisted living community?
- What are your feelings about hospice care? What would you be looking for in hospice care?
- Do you want to make your own funeral arrangements? If so, what steps have you taken?
- If you will be alone sometimes, is there a system set up that can be used to monitor your safety and call for help if something goes wrong?
These are all intense topics for many people to discuss. Reflecting on the prospect of losing health, mobility, or autonomy can be scary, as can meditating on the inevitability of mortality.
It may be necessary to remind yourself and your loved one that making these plans is the best way for them to maximize their agency over the months or years ahead.
Take breaks if you need to. You probably are going to need to circle back a number of times to finalize all the plans, both for logistical and emotional reasons.
Get Compassionate Care in Accordance with Your Loved One’s Wishes
Now you know some key questions to ask when you are working with your loved one on their medical planning. As your hospice provider, we can offer additional guidance for these conversations. Our goal is to make sure that your loved one is receiving the care they need in accordance with their stated wishes.
To find out how we can help, please give us a call at (818) 748-3427. We are based in
Burbank, and offer hospice services throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan region.
