Yesterday, April 16th, was National Advance Care Planning Day and a reminder for all Canadians, patients and providers alike, to talk to our loved ones before a crisis happens when we may not be able to speak for ourselves.

It’s also a day when health care providers and organizations can reflect on our practices in speaking with patients, clients and residents about their wishes.

Hear Jennifer Yang, VGH ICU critical care nurse, share her experience with Advance Care Planning

ASK

The ASK Strategy helps teams start the conversation with patients and families about whether they have expressed, and possibly documented, their preferences about the care they would want if they couldn’t speak for themselves.

Patients can use the My Voice workbook to document their decisions and share them with their loved ones and the health care team.

The health care team can share patients’ wishes in the charts using the green plastic sleeves or PARIS “Instructions” in the Clinical Summary.

More information

For resources and more information on ACP, please visit the ACP section on VCH Connect, or email advancecareplanning@vch.ca

Download the Advance Care Planning Fact Sheet (PDF)