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The
Someone to Trust initiative held its launch event on Friday, October 13, 2006 at the Northwestern Memorial Hospital conference center in Chicago, IL. Over 100 people attended the all-day seminar/workshop. Participants included a balanced mix of physicians, nurses, social workers, clergy, administrators and community members. While the majority of attendees represented Chicago institutions or organizations, there were participants from the collar counties as well. Several large healthcare systems, the major Chicago medical centers, a number of community hospitals and hospices, and the VA sent representatives. Other notable organizations in attendance included the Chicago Department of Public Health, Illinois Hospital Association, Illinois State Medical Society, The Office of the Attorney General, Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council and Humana, Inc. Community audiences included representatives from area churches and disability groups. Mayor Richard Daley sent a greeting to conference attendees in the form of a letter supporting the efforts of the group. The goal of the meeting was to take the first steps to develop an advance care planning program for Chicago with the support of a coalition of local institutions, community groups and policymakers.
During the seminar portion of the event, keynote speaker Joseph Fins, MD, (Weill Cornell Medical Center, New York) made a compelling argument for a new approach to advance directives using a “covenantal” framework focused on relationships and conversations, rather than the current legal framework. Mary Labyak, head of Hospice of the Florida Suncoast, the hospice that cared for Terri Schiavo (who did not have an advance directive), described the impact of the
tragic case on staff, community and other patients at the hospice. She offered that the legacy of Terri Schiavo is to ensure that a similar tragedy does not happen in other communities. Charles Sabatino, JD, (American Bar Association Commission on Law and Aging) spoke about the reasons most advance directives don’t work the way they are intended and gave recommendations on what can be done to change current practice, most notably emphasize ongoing conversations with a designated agent (durable power of attorney for healthcare) and healthcare providers. Mr. Sabatino also recommended tools to guarantee that information is available in the medical record. Linda Briggs of La Crosse, WI, described the highly regarded and effective Respecting Choices® advance care planning model that combines community and professional education, systems change and quality improvement.
For the workshops, participants divided into groups by discipline and identified barriers to an advance care planning program in Chicago. Later in the day, the same groups brainstormed solutions for overcoming these barriers. During the wrap-up for the day, participants were invited to sign up for the task forces that were forming to work on the project.
For a program of the event, click here.
For a PowerPoint summary of the event and the recommendations from the workshops, click here.
at 312-636-9261 or someonetotrust@iomc.org.