​Many thanks to those of you who were able to join us this April for our month-long celebration of National Healthcare Decisions Day, April 16. As we know that there are still many questions about the new Honoring Choices as it revives and once again becomes a state-wide organization, this year we focused on both the advance care planning basics and sharing information about what Honoring Choices is up to at both the state and national level.

We started off with working with the office of Governor Tim Walz, who issued a proclamation declaring April 16, 2024 as Healthcare Decisions Day in Minnesota! We thank you, Governor Walz, for your support of advance care planning efforts in our state, and for joining us in our vision of a world where all people’s healthcare wishes are known and honored.

​On April 7th at 11:40am, Lynn MacKenzie talked with Kelly Cordes of WJON in St. Cloud about Light the Legacy’s vision and our work toward ensuring all people in Central Minnesota over the age of 18 have a healthcare directive, as well as our upcoming events. Tune in to listen!

​What is your past experience in healthcare? (i.e. experience as a Nurse in the Cancer unit at SC Hosp., etc.)

I was a staff nurse on the cancer unit of St. Cloud Hospital from 1989-2017 and am now retired. When I was a cancer nurse, I often cared for cancer patients who had not written out a Healthcare Directive and were unable to speak for themselves. In these situations, if they hadn’t talked previously to their loved ones about their wishes at the end of life, their loved ones usually chose to have aggressive treatments done for them. I often wondered if these cancer patients really wanted all the aggressive treatments we were giving them.

You’ve trained as an Advance Care Planning Facilitator and volunteer with Light the Legacy at Whitney Senior Center – tell me about that.

In order to help persons who come to Whitney Center to fill out their Healthcare Directives, I received Advance Care Planning training from Light The Legacy. I have found it very rewarding to help people write down their wishes as they fill out their Healthcare Directives.

​What comes to mind when you think about the experience of a “good death”?  Often people will suggest that they would like to die in their sleep.  Others suggest they would like to die peacefully in their home surrounded by loved ones.  These are the ideals often suggested, but the reality for most of us is that we will die in a hospital or some other institutional setting.  Although 7 out of 10 people suggest that they would like to die at home, the reality is just the opposite.  Only 25-30% of people die at home while 70% die in a hospital or nursing home.  

As medical technology has evolved so have the myriad of treatments and technologies medical professionals can employ to keep people alive when our bodies and minds begin to fail.  The term “life-support” has become a common term in our language.  But when does “life support” begin to feel like it is no longer supporting life, and it is merely extending the dying process?  How do we decide when we need to stop using the mechanical devices such as ventilators and tube feedings to support life, and allow a loved one to die?