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Blog archive

May 2025

A Day to Celebrate, Connect, and Empower: Older Americans Month at Victory Park
05/30/2025

End of Life: You Do Have Choices!
05/30/2025

Get Moving, Pasadena Village: Walking Toward a Healthier, Happier You
05/30/2025

Music: A Universal Language
05/30/2025

Presidents Message
05/30/2025

The New Grammar Guardian of Pasadena Village
05/30/2025

Undue Influence: Keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
05/30/2025

Village Within a Village
05/30/2025

What do we do now?
05/30/2025

Status - May 10, 2025
05/10/2025

A Tribute to Dad
05/05/2025

A Tribute to Mom
05/05/2025

A Board Director Perspective
05/02/2025

A Death Valley Adventure
05/02/2025

Ask an Architect
05/02/2025

Message from the President
05/02/2025

My 15-Minute City
05/02/2025

Neighboring Anew
05/02/2025

Scam Red Flags
05/02/2025

Sir Beckett, A Woman's Best Friend
05/02/2025

Volunteer Appreciation: Giving a New Level of Love and Caring
05/02/2025

April 2025

March 2025

About Senior Solutions
03/28/2025

Building a Bridge With Journey House, A Home Base for Former Foster Youth
03/28/2025

Come for the Knitting, Stay for the Conversation... and the Cookies
03/28/2025

Creating Safe and Smart Spaces with Home Technology
03/28/2025

Finding Joy in My Role on The Pasadena Village Board
03/28/2025

I've Fallen and I Can't Get Up!
03/28/2025

Managing Anxiety
03/28/2025

Message from Our President: Keeping Pasadena Village Strong Together
03/28/2025

My Favorite Easter Gift
03/28/2025

The Hidden History of Black Women in WWII
03/28/2025

Urinary Tract Infection – Watch Out!
03/28/2025

Volunteer Coordinator and Blade-Runner
03/28/2025

Continuing Commitment to Combating Racism
03/26/2025

Goodbye and Keep Cold by Robert Frost
03/13/2025

What The Living Do by Marie Howe
03/13/2025

Racism is Not Genetic
03/11/2025

Bill Gould, The First
03/07/2025

THIS IS A CHAPTER, NOT MY WHOLE STORY
03/07/2025

Dramatic Flair: Villagers Share their Digital Art
03/03/2025

Empowering Senior LGBTQ+ Caregivers
03/03/2025

A Life Never Anticipated
03/02/2025

Eaton Fire Changes Life
03/02/2025

February 2025

Commemorating Black History Month 2025
02/28/2025

Transportation at the Pasadena Village
02/28/2025

A Look at Proposition 19
02/27/2025

Behind the Scenes: Understanding the Pasadena Village Board and Its Role
02/27/2025

Beyond and Within the Village: The Power of One
02/27/2025

Celebrating Black Voices
02/27/2025

Creatively Supporting Our Village Community
02/27/2025

Decluttering: More Than The Name Implies
02/27/2025

Hidden Gems of Forest Lawn Museum
02/27/2025

LA River Walk
02/27/2025

Message from the President
02/27/2025

Phoenix Rising
02/27/2025

1619 Conversations with West African Art
02/25/2025

The Party Line
02/24/2025

Bluebird by Charles Bukowski
02/17/2025

Dreams by Langston Hughes
02/17/2025

Haiku - Four by Fritzie
02/17/2025

Haikus - Nine by Virginia
02/17/2025

Wind and Fire
02/17/2025

Partnerships Amplify Relief Efforts
02/07/2025

Another Community Giving Back
02/05/2025

Diary of Disaster Response
02/05/2025

Eaton Fire: A Community United in Loss and Recovery
02/05/2025

Healing Powers of Creative Energy
02/05/2025

Living the Mission
02/05/2025

Message from the President: Honoring Black History Month
02/05/2025

Surviving and Thriving: Elder Health Considerations After the Fires
02/05/2025

Treasure Hunting in The Ashes
02/05/2025

Villager's Stories
02/05/2025

A Beginning of Healing
02/03/2025

Hectic Evacuation From Eaton Canyon Fire
02/02/2025

Hurricanes and Fires are Different Monsters
02/02/2025

January 2025

End of Life: You Do Have Choices!

By Suzi Hoge
Posted: 05/30/2025
Tags: suzi hoge, education team, newsletter june 2025

Pasadena Village hosted a Zoom presentation on Advanced Care Planning and End of Life Options.  Kelly Newcomb of the non-profit, End of Life Choices California, was the presenter.  Throughout the presentation Kelly provided information clearly and calmly and offered additional forms and resources available on their website. 

Newcomb shared that most people nearing the end of their lives would like to be at home with loved ones, have their pain or discomfort managed, know their spiritual needs are respected, and be as little of a burden to their loved ones as possible.

To help create these possibilities, all of us need to make sure that our values and wishes are known. This decreases confusion and potential family conflict. The website https://endoflifechoicesca.org/ offers many planning resources so that we can think about what our desires are, make choices, and communicate these choices to our family and medical supports.  One of the resources available to download is My End of Life Decisions Workbook at https://endoflifechoicesca.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/my-end-of-life-decisions-guide-online-interactive-version-final-7-1-20-pdf.pdf. Within this workbook,  Newcomb suggests filling out the Values Worksheet that begins on page 17 is an important place to start. Bruce Christiansen shared, “This is a timely topic.  I am thinking of making a short video of me reading and explaining my wishes to my family  who are the decision makers so we are all clear on what I think is appropriate.”

Villager Sharon Jarrett shared, “I was happy to first learn that an organization such as End of Life  exists and offers information on their website. I found the three elements to consider in continuing medical treatment helpful: consider the expected outcomes of treatment, are the medical options better or worse than the illness and what will the quality of life be vs. the quantity.”

During the presentation, Newcomb also explained various other documents and how recording our desires ahead of time helps shape our last days based on what we value.  The documents described included: VSED Directive – Voluntarily Stopping Eating & Drinking; POLST which is an advanced care directive with a doctor’s signature; and MAID - Medical Aid in Dying.  Dick Myers offered, “I was happy to see that this option exists, but it seems that any options within this program require a diagnosis of a terminal illness other than old age.”

The difference in Palliative versus Hospice Care was also described.  Palliative care is provided at any stage of a disease.  Treatment may be available.  Doctors and other medical professionals work collaborate while one is at home, in a facility, or hospital.  Insurance mostly pays for these services.  Hospice, on the other hand, is aimed at those who are believed to have 6 months or less to live.  The priority is comfort care.  A support team provides resources.  It can be paid for by MediCal, Medicare, or insurance. 

The website and resources of End of Life Choices California are worth taking some time to browse through.  While they offer many resources on the website — workbooks, videos, legal information, how to talk to your loved ones, and forms — they also offer support in many different ways, such as talking to a volunteer or having someone come during Medically Assisted Dying. 

As in much of life, it is good to know what the options are and have time to reflect before decisions have to be made.

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