Free end-of-life planning workshop next week in Sudbury

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Free Sudbury workshop tackles advance care planning

Demystifying end-of-life care

A free workshop in Greater Sudbury next week will guide residents through the process of advance care planning, an initiative organizers say is crucial for ensuring personal wishes are respected during a health crisis.

The session, hosted by Maison McCulloch Hospice as the third installment of its Dying Well series, is designed to provide both the tools and the supportive environment necessary for this essential planning.

“It’s going to cover all aspects of advance care planning,” said the hospice’s executive director Julie Aube.

“The questions we need to ask ourselves when we’re going through a life limiting illness or, you know, facing end of life, and 100% of us, are going to get there some day, right?”

Preventing decisions in a state of crisis

Aube emphasized that these difficult conversations often do not happen until it is too late, forcing families to make critical choices under duress.

“What we see here at hospice, though, is families that are coming in and patients that are coming in in a state of crisis and they’re having to make decisions on the fly, when they’re emotionally disturbed,” she said.

“What we want is to give more power, more control to our community members over their health care journey by having these conversations before they end up in the health care system and that’s the goal of this workshop.”

The session can be attended alone or with a loved one and will be led by palliative care coaches who will assist participants in completing their advance care plans in a supportive group setting.

Identifying a substitute decision maker, documenting wishes

Facilitator Jennifer Gosselin, a registered social worker and geriatric assessor, outlined the primary objectives for attendees to CTV News.

A key goal is for every participant to leave with a clear understanding of who would speak for them if they became unable to do so themselves.

“We’re going to make sure that everybody leaving the conference in the session is going to be able to identify who their substitute decision maker is,” Gosselin said.

“That’s the person that would make a decision for you if you could no longer, mentally do so for yourself. And then again, what we hope is that people will leave with resources, that helps you to kind of document again your values, your wishes, your beliefs.”

Gosselin added that completing this planning is a profound gift to one’s family, relieving them of the burden of guessing a loved one’s wishes during an emotional time.

“It’s almost a promise or a guarantee that, you will make jobs easier for your family and loved ones or anyone in the decision-making capacity,” she said.

Gosselin said that knowing that you’re really just being the voice for a person and just saying what you already you they wants since these discussions have taken place makes a big difference.

Northern Ontario model for provincial research

The workshop will also include a voluntary research component led by Dr. Caroline Duquette, a third-year medical resident at NOSM University, who is studying the effectiveness of group sessions for completing advance care plans.

“This research came out of a previous project where we looked at how do we integrate advanced care planning into family physicians’ offices,” Duquette said.

“What we learned was that this is still a very difficult thing for family and nurse practitioners to do day to day. So, we thought, is there a way where we can get a number of these done?”

Duquette said she hopes the findings, which will be shared at a provincial conference in the spring, can establish a new model for other communities.

“Can we share this throughout the province and be a model for other communities, and do the advance care plans get completed in the sessions, and do participants share it with their family physicians and their substitute decision makers?” asked Duquette.

“We’re really hoping that this can be a model that can grow,” she added.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity for our community.”

The workshop will be held at the United Steelworkers’ Hall on Nov. 25 from 9:30 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The deadline for registration is Nov. 23 and potential participants can register online or by calling 705-674-9252, ext. 222.