Honoring Choices Virginia

Happy New Year!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Thanksgiving, from Honoring Choices Virginia!

Donation page: https://honoringchoices-va.org/connect/donate/

Please say hello to our Fall 2022 - Spring 2023 MSW intern, Maggie Anderson! Maggie will be assisting our team with our statewide referral intake process, as well as research and training for our work on mental health directives with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services. We are so very excited to have Maggie on board!

Thank you so much to Janei Lofty, Community Network manager extraordinaire at ECD Communities, and all of the wonderful residents at The Rosa, Highland Springs, and Baker Street Senior Apartments for inviting us to participate in each of their recent wellness fairs! We enjoyed connecting with so many new and familiar faces and look forward to working with you to make ACP support accessible for all!

Grant Announcement!
A Big Thank You to the Southern Gerontological Society!

In 2018, SGS launched an endowment campaign with the goal of establishing a fund that may be used to help finance projects and initiatives that support the mission of SGS. This year SGS awarded its first Endowment Fund Award to Honoring Choices Virginia (HCV).

Advance care planning (ACP) is making decisions about the medical care you would want to receive if you were unable to speak for yourself due to a medical crisis. Honoring Choices Virginia (HCV) promotes access to quality ACP that is honored in the delivery of care, working to alleviate complex barriers that prevent people from making informed medical decisions. HCV is one of the few ACP organizations in the country to expand beyond the clinical environment to innovate community-based ACP strategies.

HCV runs four major ACP programs:
1. Building Community-Based Supportive Systems
2. Equitable Person-Centered Care for People with Mental Health Challenges
3. Professional Training Services
4. Education and Support Services for Individuals and Families

HCV will be piloting a fifth program that draws on the strengths of existing programs, a statewide ACP helpline. Healthcare providers and patients rely on telehealth more now than ever before. Telehealth will remain popular and improves access to care for rural communities, people with disabilities, homebound seniors, caregivers, and supports all individuals aging in Virginia. The helpline will advance health equity by promoting ACP awareness, eliminating barriers to accessing ACP services, and increasing participation in ACP.

Funds from the SGS Endowment Fund will go towards helping HCV hire a consultant to perform the helpline feasibility study. Work has already begun collecting data and resources. This feasibility study will help identify regions and partners to begin the pilot as well as help create a data matrix and next steps for the project.

Thank you to the Virginia Association of Community Services Boards for hosting us at last week's VACSB annual conference! We are excited to begin our work in partnership with the Virginia Dept. of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services (DBHDS) supporting Virginia CSBs with advance care planning and mental health directive completion!

Do you know that the Health Care Decisions Act, which established a template for all states to recognize advance medical directives in 1993, is currently being revised by the Uniform Law Commission? The ULC Committee responsible for this work will present its first draft of the new act this Friday and Saturday, April 22/23. Public attendance and participation is encouraged! Follow the committee to get updates on their work and access to meeting information--just visit their web page:

Health-Care Decisions Act Committee - Uniform Law Commission Uniform Law Commission The Uniform Law Commission (ULC, also known as the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws), established in 1892, provides states with non-partisan, well-conceived and well-drafted legislation that brings clarity and stability to critical areas of state stat...

Happy ! Founded in 2008, NHDD is an initiative to encourage individuals to express their wishes regarding healthcare and for providers and facilities to respect those wishes, whatever they may be. We're proud to share this mission in our work every day!

BIG thanks to Nora Winkelman and Nina Kohn, representing the Health Care Decisions Act Revising Committee of the Uniform Law Commission, for their excellent presentation today on the ULC's current work to revise the HCDA. And thanks to all of the other amazing presenters--Dr. Heather Zelle of Institute of Law, Psychiatry, and Public Policy, Katy Trapp and Dr. Earl White of Sentara Healthcare Center for Healthcare Ethics, Dr. James Levenson of VCU Health, and Nathan Kottkamp of Williams Mullen/National Healthcare Decisions Day--who contributed to our winter/spring 2022 ACP Professional Learning Series!

Now we want you to SAVE THE DATE for the first State of Advance Care Planning in Virginia on September 14, 2022.

"Studies have shown that compared with men, women face longer waits to be diagnosed with cancer and heart disease, are treated less aggressively for traumatic brain injury, and are less likely to be offered pain medications. People of color often receive poorer quality care, too; and doctors are more likely to describe Black patients as uncooperative or non-compliant, which research suggests can affect treatment quality."

Women Are Calling Out ‘Medical Gaslighting’ Studies show female patients and people of color are more likely to have their symptoms dismissed by medical providers. Experts say: Keep asking questions.