Virtual Office Hours
Let's Talk... And Stay Safe
We continue to offer virtual Advance Care Planning (ACP) conversations via phone calls (including group calls) and live audiovisual services (Zoom). A number of people have taken advantage of the service to either update their Advance Directive (AD) or create their first AD.
To request a conversation:
Click here or call us at 616-421-4840...
A New Season at MCM
After almost three years with MCM, our talented Meagan Zoodsma is off to a new assignment as Senior Business Partner to former Great Lakes Health Connect/Making Choices Michigan CEO, Doug Dietzman (now Executive Vice President at MiHIN). Meagan will be working with Monica over the next few weeks to get her acclimated to our work. If you would like to connect with Meagan, her new email is meagan.zoodsma@mihin.org Assuming her position is Monica Ward, our new Program Manager...
Advance Care Planning (ACP) during the COVID-19 Pandemic
You have heard it over and over by now; “unprecedented, uncertain times, ventilator shortage”. The list goes on. Coping methods differ between individuals. Some don’t want to hear anything, others are scouring the internet and listening to the news for any information they can find.
Our mission has always been to educate the public about healthcare choices, including end of life choices, and to work with our healthcare communities so that those choices are known and respected at the time of need. Being educated and sharing your treatment preferences with your patient advocate is a way for you to take control of your healthcare. It is also a gift, both to your patient advocate, and to our healthcare providers! Everyone needs to know what is most important to you during this uncertain time...
First Steps® ACP Facilitator Training
Healthcare professionals and community volunteers alike are invited to participate in this evidence-based training to become a certified Advance Care Planning (ACP) Facilitator. As an ACP Facilitator, you have the opportunity to assist individual's through the Advance Care Planning process and help them define what matters most to them...
Interfaith Initiative & First United Methodist Church
Join us at the Capital Area Summit: Wednesday, October 23, 2019 at The MTG Space | Lansing, MI
In partnership with Great Lakes Health Connect, the Capital Area Summit will feature an Advance Care Planning (ACP) track featuring best practice breakout sessions with statewide ACP experts. Network and learn from local, state, and national leaders! Presentations will help attendees understand recent policy changes, advance directive storage/retrieval mechanisms, and how to promote shared decision making at all stages (including community based ACP programs). These presentations will enhance healthcare provider’s ability to honor a person’s wishes!
Did You Know?
ACP Myth: My doctor will tell me if (s)he knows I am facing a life-limiting situation; and (s)he will know what I want for my care. Not necessarily. In JoNel Aleccia’s poignant article, she shares Dr. Ron Naito’s advanced cancer experience. Dr. Naito, a physician, had the same experience as many people; his physician’s reluctance to share the diagnosis, and his physician's lack of...
Language Matters: What is the Difference Between Hospice and Palliative Care?
As a certified hospice and palliative care nurse, nothing “trips my trigger” like hearing “So and so has decided to stop medical treatment and instead receive comfort care.” While the phrase sounds kind and compassionate, it misleads the public about the important skill set that hospice and palliative care clinicians possess to alleviate troubling symptoms at end of life. It also implies that a person has to make a choice between expert symptom management in advanced illness (physical, psychological, social, and spiritual) or life-extending therapies...
June is Alzheimer’s and Brain Health Awareness Month.
To make a healthcare-related decision, a person must be able to UNDERSTAND (take in information), DELIBERATE (process information taken in), and COMMUNICATE (articulate conclusion/choice based on understanding and deliberating).
Advance Care Planning is not just for the sick, elderly, and frail.
In an effort to bring light to the importance of advance care planning (ACP) in this age group, in the past 6 months, we have educated over 500 college-age students!
Mental Illness at the End of Life Conference
Making Choices Michigan is teaming up with LaughFest for their special Laughter Rx Series
Destigmatizing Mental Health Advance Directives
Treating the whole person requires understanding that attending to the psychiatric needs of the patient are just as important as attending to their physical needs.
A Resolution for Peace of Mind
The new year abounds with resolutions and goals for healthier eating, more exercise, and enhanced well being. Many of us will take the plunge and finally move forward with tasks that we've been procrastinating about, like having an advance care planning conversation!
Event Recap: What Happens When You Die?
Grand Valley State University's Kaufman Interfaith Institute and MCM co-hosted an interfaith dialogue on the theological underpinnings of the meaning of death.
Let's Talk Turkey!
While starting the conversation can be a bit intimidating, it does not need to be scary. Here are some resources to help you get started!
What happens when you Die?
Join us for a two-night interfaith dialogue on the theological underpinnings of the meaning of death
We've Got a New Look!
Designating someone as a legal funeral representative can ensure that your burial preferences are honored and remove some unnecessary anxiety.