Most people haven’t told their loved ones what they would like to have happen if they were seriously ill. Conversations about end of life care an important to have and the Five Wishes class at Evergreen Healthcare is designed to make tackling these questions easier.
“This an opening to conversations around end of life care,” class instructor and Evergreen Spiritual Care staff member Donna Oiland said.
Five Wishes is a user friendly advanced directive that is a legal document in 39 states, including Washington. It allows people to outline specifics about who would be authorized to make care decisions and the extent of medical treatment a person wants in the event that they are unable to communicate with health care providers themselves. Class participants will learn about the document and how to complete a Five Wishes living will.
“This is a document that I say is created for normal people, with out all the legalese of an advanced directive,” Oiland said.
She said many people get the paper work to do an advanced directive, but never fill it out, while others complete their advanced directives but never tell anyone. Oiland said adults of any age can benefit from the class.
“We’ve had children bring their parents because they want to know what their parents want, and we’ve had older folks who want to talk about this but their children aren’t ready to discuss it,” she said. “Really, this is a class for everyone, because we’re all going to die, even if we don’t smoke.”
Oiland said completing the Five Wishes living will is taking a first step toward facing our mortality.
“Saying I don’t have forever helps us live more fully because we place more value on the time we have,” she said. “And it assures your loved ones will know your wishes if you should become seriously ill.”
The Five Wishes class will take place on Thursday, March 6 from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at Evergreen Hospital Medical Center in Kirkland. The cost of the class is $5. Registration is required and can be completed through the Evergreen website, or by calling the Evergreen Healthline at 425.899.3000 Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.