PeaceHealth Medical Group has taken steps to increase awareness about the benefits of advance care planning for people in its service areas. This year, PeaceHealth hired staff ACP program facilitators, expanded access to outpatient palliative care, and informed populations about the merits of addressing end-of-life decisions before crisis mode.
Because PeaceHealth is the largest employer in Whatcom, Clark, and Lane counties in Washington and Oregon, greater awareness could be achieved if they partnered with county health departments to position ACP as a public health concern. ACP isn’t about dying, it’s about living better. A public health campaign would help normalize conversations about our life’s last chapters.
Public health is meant to improve the health of broad populations with investments not ordinarily considered “health care” — wearing helmets, seatbelts, exercising, quitting smoking, better nutrition and water and air quality.
If PeaceHealth and county health departments mounted a vigorous engagement program to mobilize family, community, and workplace to learn more about the technical complexities of living and dying in medical contexts, it could foster change in social attitudes about mortality. This partnership could build on existing health education and community engagement strategies, which would improve quality of life for patients, families — and professional care providers.
A win-win!
