National Healthcare Decisions Day

Hospice of Santa Cruz County to host Kick-off Event

Saturday, April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).

This year, Santa Cruz County will participate in a national movement to encourage Americans to make their personal healthcare decisions known by completing an advance directive and talking about it with their family and loved ones.

The kick-off event on
Friday April 8 will promote the importance of advance directives for all Santa Cruz County residents. Assemblyman Mark Stone, City of Santa Cruz Mayor Cynthia Mathews, City of Scotts Valley Mayor Donna Lind, Second District Supervisor Zach Friend, and Fifth District Supervisor Bruce McPherson are among the list of attendees at this important event to encourage Santa Cruz County residents to complete advance directives.

Many of the attendees have expressed first-hand experience with this issue and a desire to motivate Santa Cruz residents to take ownership of their personal and medical decision by completing an advance directive this April.

Americans are culturally hardwired not to talk about illness, death, and dying and we’re paying a tremendous price for it. When no advance care planning has been done, family and friends are often thrust into the position of making healthcare choices without ever having discussed their loved one’s choices—then live with the burden of second guessing themselves.

One of the key problems is finding the right time and the right way to bring up the topic because it’s always too early until it’s too late. Advance care planning may not fix all of these issues, but experience shows it helps. This April, we’re encouraging all Santa Cruz County residents to complete an advance directive and make their wishes known because National Healthcare Decisions Day is the right time.

We know this isn’t an easy process and that’s why we’re turning to Santa Cruz County elected officials, health, medical, and student leaders to help.

Hospice of Santa Cruz County (HSCC) envisions a community where all people live and die with dignity. Since 1978, HSCC has honored the choices of individuals and families by providing exemplary end-of-life care and grief support to our community. As the county’s leading nonprofit provider of hospice care, our core hospice program provides community grief support, a children’s bereavement camp, transitional care services, pet companion and music therapy programs, hospice care for veterans, and end-of-life education and outreach. HSCC serves approximately 3,500 Santa Cruz County residents annually.

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Learn more at www.hospicesantacruz.org.