Resources for You
I truly appreciate you being here! As much as my business thrives on customers, I want to extend some knowledge and resources for you to be able to do your own research and have access to planning your own future. If you have any questions, be sure to reach out to your primary care facility. They often have resources of their own and other companies and foundations they work with closely. Here is some info to get you started. Advanced Care Directive
An Advanced Care Directive is a form you fill out that tells your loved ones and your doctors what you want when it comes to life sustaining measures and when you’d like to be taken off medicine/treatments that may be prolonging your life. Once filled and notarized, you have the ability to change it at any time. It’s not set in stone. In the State of Minnesota, you don’t have to get it notarized, although you can. It only has to be signed by two witnesses, one can be a medical professional, one can be a family or friend that is NOT a power of attorney or health care agent listed on your document. Otherwise it can be signed by a third party notary to be valid. Make sure to keep a copy for yourself and that your primary care facility and hospital have it on file. An ACD is separate from a POLST. A POLST stands for Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment. This is where you decide if you want full life saving measures performed, have a do not resuscitate (DNR), and what you’d like in terms of being on life support and artificial nutrition (tube feed). If you do not have a POLST on file, they will perform full life saving measures and put you on full life support if needed. You can find a PDF I downloaded from the State of Minnesota government website here. If you want more planning tools, they have a toolkit and more information in a PDF here. If you are looking for a POLST, contact your primary care facility.
This is the first step in making sure your loved ones know what you want when it comes to medical care and end of life. You never know when you may not have the capacity to make those decisions for yourself anymore, so having them written and on file is a sure way that your wishes are met to the fullest extent.
MN Death Collaborative
“We are a group of integrative death professionals who serve our community in a variety of ways. We are end of life doulas, home funeral and vigil guides, celebrants, green burial advocates, energy and body workers, and much more. We work together to provide integrative death care opportunities to those who are dying, their families, and their support network. Our goal is to educate and inform the public and professionals within the state of Minnesota, and to help those in need find appropriate services and resources.” - taken from the MNDC website About Us section.
The MN Death Collaborative is a non-profit website that offers resources and a directory to death workers that are members. (I recently became a member myself!) They are growing and it is exciting to be part of an industry that has the same passion as I do. You can find a direct link to their resource page here. Check out their full page and directory at www.mndeathcollaborative.org.
I hope at the very least you are able to check out these resources to start the often difficult conversation that is death and dying. It’s never comfortable to talk about, even when you’re young and healthy. But in the grand scheme of things, we never know what’s going to happen. It is always in our best interest and lightens the burden on our loved ones when what we want is written out and on file. You deserve a good death, and that starts with letting others know what you want when you get to that part of your journey.
Peace and Blessings,
I am not a medical professional, and any information provided should not be considered as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. If you have a question, contact your doctor, or contact your hospice provider. Reliance on any information provided by me is solely at your own risk.
