Advance Care Choices
(Formerly the End-of-Life Care Committee)The focus of the Advance Care Choices committee is educating the public about advance care planning, supporting best practices with regard to individuals and families experiencing end-of-life challenges and choices, and working together to create action-based strategies for advance care choices. This committee is still in the planning phase.
Past membership has included a range of health care professionals, including physicians, nurses and social workers, attorneys as well as other professionals representing hospitals, acute care, hospice organizations, other mental health and family support providers, laypersons and consumers, university faculty and researchers, and members of the faith community.
2015 Accomplishments
The Capital Area Health Alliance convened a small group of End-of-Life Care Committee members to discuss the future direction of the committee. The group discussed the current health care needs of the community. There was an agreement by the group to not focus on end of life, but to focus on quality of life and care choices. Advance care planning is a continuum of decision-making that involves taking responsibility of your own care. It was decided that Advance Care Choices would be a more suitable name for the committee.
The following meetings were attended and additional exploratory conversations continued to take place in order to determine the future and focus of the Advance Care Choices Committee.
- Honoring Residents' Choices Share the Experience, which discussed the importance of advance care planning and what is being accomplished in the community and around the state.
- Capital Area Collaborative on Care Transitions. This collaborative works to improve care transitions throughout the Capital Area with an emphasis on quality of life.
- 5 Wishes Presentation at Sparrow. 5 Wishes is a national advance directive program.
The End-of-Life Committee (now Advance Care Choices) was approved as a standing committee of the Alliance by the CAHA Board of Directors, and it began meeting in the first quarter of 2012. If you are interested in joining the Advance Care Choices committee, please contact the Alliance at 517-347-3377 or email connect@cahealthalliance.org. 
