For some people, the idea of advance care planning brings up an unexpected fear: “What if this pulls me back into relationships that I’ve worked hard to step away from?”
We hear this concern especially from people who are estranged from a parent, adult child, sibling, or other family member. Estrangement is becoming more common, and it can be the result of long‑standing conflict, abuse, betrayal, or fundamental differences that make contact harmful or unsafe. Yet people worry that if an estranged relative names them as a health care proxy — or if they themselves avoid planning altogether — medical decisions could suddenly force unwanted involvement during a crisis.
The good news is this: advance care planning does not obligate anyone to re‑engage with family they don’t have a relationship with. Read more here.
National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is April 16th and we’re celebrating all month by sharing resources across our communications channels – follow us via Facebook and Instagram. Check here for ideas for promoting NHDD in your community or use our Communications Toolkit for Promoting NHDD to access ready-made content and images you can use to make spreading the word easy. Or, share our recent call recording “How to discuss your wishes for care through the end of life with family and friends” with concrete steps to take.
“The Conversation Project emphasizes having a conversation on values — what matters to you, not what‘s the matter with you.”
– Ellen Goodman, Co-Founder & Director
Maureen Jennings gathered family together on her father’s 85th birthday to talk about the health care he wants.
watch the abc segment now » Featured on ABC World News with Diane Sawyer
