Looking for ideas for promoting National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) in your community? Hundreds of local, state, and national groups across the country are gearing up and knee-deep in planning for April 16. We’ve compiled a list below based on plans that were graciously shared with us that we hope will get you started.
Circulate some simple actions someone can take in 10 minutes or less:
- Our latest blog: 10 Ideas of Things to Do for National Healthcare Decisions Day (in 10 Minutes or Less) offers up some easy ways for individuals to participate. Feel free to share this across your social media platforms, in a newsletter, or in an email.
- Or, simply follow us, The Conversation Project (TCP), on Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook and reshare our NHDD posts.
Promote using traditional and social media, videos, or other platforms:
- Julie Bobell at Memorial Health plans to promote NHDD via radio interviews and news releases.
- Dave Smeltzer, on his own, plans to post about NHDD on his Facebook and LinkedIn pages.
- Conversation Ready NTX’s Laurie Miller created short videos that answer the questions: “What do you wish you knew before your loved one died?” and “What do you want your loved ones to know about your wishes?” She is sharing these over their social media platforms.
- As a hospice and palliative care provider, Moira Allaby from Agape Healthcare recognizes how important planning conversations are in both ensuring a person’s wishes are honored and relieving burdens for family members and health care providers. They plan to promote TCP’s messages through social media and a blog for NHDD (and always).
- Christina Guerin from Hands of Serenity hopes to bring more attention to having conversations about someone’s plans for care through the end of life before the need arises. The organization will be doing social media posts on LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. They plan to host a free workshop locally.
- MAC Inc. Area Agency on Aging’s Donna Blackwell notes that the agency will be posting videos on their in-house TV for visitors and senior center attendees.
- Hospice in the Pines’ Demetress Charrell is working on a Five Wishes® platform and plans to release a major promotion during NHDD.
Focus on supporting a specific target audience or theme:
- Lucinda Koza reports that I-Ally is creating a millennial’s guide to navigating a loved one’s end-of-life care.
- The Arizona End of Life Care Partnership is promoting the theme of “All Ages, All Stages” to focus on younger people doing their advance care planning.
- Patsy Klein at Catholic Community Services of Southern Arizona is planning an accessible presentation for people with hearing loss.
- Heidi Hannapel notes that Bluestem Community/Bluestem Cemetery is opening a conservation cemetery in the coming weeks and plans to make their audience aware of TCP information and website, sharing that there is opportunity to make important health care decisions.
Host workshops, in-person events (if possible), or tables with information:
- Amanda Fierro from Erickson Senior Living / Your Decisions Matter notes the organization is hoping to be able to do an in-person event this year with a panel and information table. They hope to have someone to speak to the medical piece, the legal piece, and the religious piece.
- Farris Smith from Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion – Bluffton, South Carolina believes just putting a table out in public with information helps patients and families with the difficult task of starting these conversations.
- Erie County Medical Center’s Advance Care Planning lead, Nichole Aldrich, will host a table in the lobby for the staff, patients, and visitors to stop by and get guides from The Conversation Project and health care proxy forms.
Draft a proclamation for NHDD for local, county, or state leaders to sign to garner attention and support more widely. Use other state or local proclamations as examples and adapt to your own community.
- Hospice in the Pines is working with their local mayor and judges, which they note has been a remarkable opportunity.
- MAC Inc. Area Agency on Aging shares they have had success going directly to their governor’s office and asking for an NHDD proclamation 6 weeks or more in advance.
More ideas can be found in this 2021 blog. And, we sourced a plethora of additional ideas that were recently shared on our February 2022 Community call focused on planning for NHDD. Access the recording and slides here.
What do you have planned? Share in the comments below.
Want to keep connected to The Conversation Project? Sign-up for our newsletter(s), follow us on social media (Twitter, Facebook, Instagram), download our conversation starter resources and feel free to reach us at ConversationProject@ihi.org.
Thanks for sharing this article with us!
Amazing! There you go on social media platforms, you can promote to your instagram followers website and even tik tok. This is where you have the huge audience. Thank you for sharing this detailed and very clear article.
Your blog provided us with valuable information to work with. Each & every tips of your post are awesome. Thanks a lot for sharing. Keep blogging,
National Healthcare Decisions Day is a day to raise awareness about the importance of having health insurance. This is an important topic for everyone, but particularly for people who are uninsured or underinsured.
We’re kicking off a NHDD event at Loft Cinema Tucson April 16, 2023 2-4pm.
A new Tucson tradition — bringing local non-profits and businesses together to talk about advance care planning with speakers, videos, raffle prizes and more!
Free and open to the public.
great