Thanks to a CCC Implementation Grant, Honoring Choices Wisconsin recently certified 28 facilitators to lead advance care planning conversations in rural clinical settings.
Honoring Choices Wisconsin, an initiative of the Wisconsin Medical Society, is committed to “promoting the benefits of and improving the process for advance care planning” in health care settings across the state.
Through its grant-funded project, “Advance Care Planning in Independent Critical Access Hospitals,” the HCW team provided resources and training to a cohort of rural hospitals, to increase advance care planning conversations among rural cancer patients.
The project team reported: “[I]n smaller rural organizations, there are fewer resources-staff, financial, infrastructure. As a result, staff members wear many hats within an organization. Because of their limited time to devote to one initiative, there was great appreciation for ready-made tools and materials.
“New workflows, processes, and policies related to advance care planning were created, which enabled hundreds of people to have a thoughtful conversation about future health care decisions and record their choices in writing. Steps toward culture change were taken that are leading to the normalization of advance care planning.” With the support of the CCC Implementation Grant Program, HCW will pilot an advance directive community engagement project in Milwaukee beginning in September.
For more information about the project, please contact Monica Messina.
For strategies and action steps in the WI CCC Plan:
Priority 11: Increase advance care planning