‘My Choices’: giving peace of mind to people at the end of life
Suzi Markov, Anne van Loon, Ineke Hillege, Allan Priest, Vicky Legge and Graham Brown at the launch of “My Choices”
It’s not easy to talk about dying.
Which is why many of us never really have that conversation, adding to the stress and anxiety experienced by individuals and their families when the time approaches.
But the launch of the new ‘My Choices: An A-Z of personal choices and practical preparations to facilitate end of life support’, has made it a little bit easier to make your wishes known.
Former Baptist Care SA Board Chair, Allan Priest, explains that ‘My Choices’ has been a ‘wonderful fulfilment’ of a visionary dream conceived since Baptist Care SA’s withdrawal from the residential aged care sector 10 years ago.
The vision was conceived through an awareness that, in the new era of consumer-directed care, people were ‘struggling to navigate practical end of life challenges’ of a size and scope beyond those that local church pastors had the resources to meet.
Authored by Vicky Legge and Anne Van Loon from Baptist Care SA’s Church Support Team, “My Choices” is based on an idea conceived by retired nurse, Ineke Hillege.
The special, flexible document covers all aspects of life and death; from health, in-home support, spiritual support, financial assets, digital identity and everything in between.
‘“My Choices” is designed to help people talk about how they want to live at the end of life,’ explains Senior Project Manager, Anne van Loon. ‘It is a great tool for individuals and families, but it is also useful for service providers and churches – who have the option to use it within small groups, pastoral care activities, or as an outreach to their wider community.’
For Ineke, who was moved by the suffering that she saw during her nursing years, this resource belongs to God and she trusts that it will help preserve people’s dignity and offer peace of mind as life comes to a close.
The “My Choices” guide is available for purchase for $15 by contacting Anne van Loon on avanloon@baptistcaresa.org.au.
The “My Choices” worksheets are available for free to download from the Baptist Care SA website
“My Choices” was made possible through the generous financial support of the Baptist Care SA Foundation.
