Making your health care choices known in advance is a gift to those you love. Join the Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement to learn what Advance Care Planning is, why it’s important, and how to express your wishes for end of life care.

Welcome to Advance Care Planning

New to Advance Care Planning? Not sure how to get started? In this presentation, you will learn:

• How to talk to loved ones and doctors about your preferences for end-of-life care

• How to consider what questions you have about your choices

• How to choose someone to be your Health Care Agent

• How to complete & file Advance Directive paperwork

• How to identify tools and resources to aid you in your decision making

Choose the time and location that works for you:

Wednesday, January 30th  5:30-7:30pm, Whatcom Community College, Syre Room 108. 237 W Kellog Rd. B’ham, WA 98226. To register: contact Whatcom Community College at 360-383-3200 or comed@whatcom.edu or register on the WCC website

Thursday, February 28th  4:00-6:00pm, Community Food Co-Op, 315 Westerly Rd. B’ham, WA 98226,  To register: contact WAHA at 360-788-6594 or info@whatcomalliance.org

Tuesday, March 26th  4:00-6:00pm. Community Food Co-Op. 1220 N Forest St. B’ham, WA 98225. To register: contact WAHA at 360-788-6594 or info@whatcomalliance.org

Thursday, April 4th 5:30-7:30pm Whatcom Community College, Syre Room 108. 237 W Kellog Rd. B’ham, WA 98226. To register: contact Whatcom Community College at 360-383-3200 or comed@whatcom.edu or register on the WCC website

Tuesday, April 9th  1:00-3:00pm, Everson Library, 104 Kirsch Dr. Everson, WA 98247. Register on the Whatcom County Library System website

 

This is a free service provided by staff and trained volunteers through the Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement (WAHA). WAHA provides free, unbiased, and confidential help with health care options and resources.  

For more information, to schedule a one-on-one appointment, or to schedule a workshop for your group, contact us at:
360-788-6594 | (TTY) 1-800-833-6388 info@whatcomalliance.org | Language Assistance Available

Making your health care choices known in advance is a gift to those you love. Join the Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement to learn what Advance Care Planning is, why it’s important, and how to express your wishes for end of life care.

Welcome to Advance Care Planning

New to Advance Care Planning? Not sure how to get started? In this presentation, you will learn:

• How to talk to loved ones and doctors about your preferences for end-of-life care

• How to consider what questions you have about your choices

• How to choose someone to be your Health Care Agent

• How to complete & file Advance Directive paperwork

• How to identify tools and resources to aid you in your decision making

Choose the time and location that works for you:

Wednesday, January 30th  5:30-7:30pm, Whatcom Community College, Syre Room 108. 237 W Kellog Rd. B’ham, WA 98226. To register: contact Whatcom Community College at 360-383-3200 or comed@whatcom.edu or register on the WCC website

Thursday, February 28th  4:00-6:00pm, Community Food Co-Op, 315 Westerly Rd. B’ham, WA 98226,  To register: contact WAHA at 360-788-6594 or info@whatcomalliance.org

Tuesday, March 26th  4:00-6:00pm. Community Food Co-Op. 1220 N Forest St. B’ham, WA 98225. To register: contact WAHA at 360-788-6594 or info@whatcomalliance.org

Thursday, April 4th 5:30-7:30pm Whatcom Community College, Syre Room 108. 237 W Kellog Rd. B’ham, WA 98226. To register: contact Whatcom Community College at 360-383-3200 or comed@whatcom.edu or register on the WCC website

Tuesday, April 9th  1:00-3:00pm, Everson Library, 104 Kirsch Dr. Everson, WA 98247. Register on the Whatcom County Library System website

 

This is a free service provided by staff and trained volunteers through the Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement (WAHA). WAHA provides free, unbiased, and confidential help with health care options and resources.  

For more information, to schedule a one-on-one appointment, or to schedule a workshop for your group, contact us at:
360-788-6594 | (TTY) 1-800-833-6388 info@whatcomalliance.org | Language Assistance Available

Advance Care Planning Group Facilitation

Ready to get started on, or complete, your Advance Directive document? WAHA is offering group facilitation sessions where we will walk through the paperwork itself, answer any questions that come up, and assist you in documenting your wishes.

To register: Contact WAHA at 360-788-6594 or info@whatcomalliance.org

This is a free service provided by staff and trained volunteers through the Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement (WAHA). WAHA provides free, unbiased, and confidential help with health care options and resources.

For more information, to schedule a one-on-one appointment, or to schedule a workshop for your group, contact us at:
360-788-6594 | (TTY) 1-800-833-6388 info@whatcomalliance.org | Language Assistance Available

Advance Care Planning Group Facilitation

Ready to get started on, or complete, your Advance Directive document? WAHA is offering group facilitation sessions where we will walk through the paperwork itself, answer any questions that come up, and assist you in documenting your wishes.

To register: Contact WAHA at 360-788-6594 or info@whatcomalliance.org

This is a free service provided by staff and trained volunteers through the Whatcom Alliance for Health Advancement (WAHA). WAHA provides free, unbiased, and confidential help with health care options and resources.

For more information, to schedule a one-on-one appointment, or to schedule a workshop for your group, contact us at:
360-788-6594 | (TTY) 1-800-833-6388 info@whatcomalliance.org | Language Assistance Available

Conversations can make all the difference!

Hilary Walker, PeaceHealth Advance Care Planning Program Coordinator, will lead an Advance Directive Workshop to guide participants through the simple, yet thought-provoking process of completing an Advance Directive.

Advance care planning is for all adults age 18 and older. FREE notary service will be available for those who complete their Advance Directive.

This workshop will take place after the Encounter Meal.

For more information, contact: Norma Maarhuis @ (360) 510-1769

William E. Lombard, MD, long-time Whatcom County nephrologist and medical director of DaVita Mt. Baker Kidney center, will present in layperson's terms the meanings of advanced medical interventions, as well as what the outcomes could mean for patients in the short and long term. Advance care planning, advance directives, and the importance of palliative care are discussed. Dr. Lombard will explain what a POLST is - Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment. This interactive session includes Q&A.

INFO: Norma Maarhuis 360 - 510 - 1769

The Northwest Life Passages Coalition hosts community conversations related to care for those with serious illness or facing end of life.  These conversations give the Coalition a chance to both share information and learn from community members as we seek to build stronger programs.

At this session, we will briefly share the current status of Outpatient Palliative Care in Whatcom County, explore current challenges we face as we seek to provide more robust outpatient and community based palliative care, and outline some new initiatives and promising models for implementing these programs.

We hope to spend the bulk of the session exploring your ideas and concerns so that we can continue to make progress toward our goal of creating a community of care that supports seriously ill patients in their homes and other community-based settings. 

This event has been canceled. If you have shared this information with others, please let them know.     "It always seems too early, until it's too late..."   April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day.  Come join us for a conversation with Nathan Kottkamp, founder & chair, of National Healthcare Decisions Day.   Nathan believes the place to start the conversation about wishes for end-of-life care is at the kitchen table, not the ICU.  Nathan, who lives in Richmond, VA, will share why he founded NHDD, and what its impact has had on our acceptance of our mortality. He is a partner of McGuireWoods LLP; a bioethicist in healthcare law, including patients' rights, clinical ethics, and advance directives.  He has dedicated his career to helping clients navigate the complex healthcare legal environment and continues to lead the pro bono NHDD initiative, which he views as a public health issue.

Because we know that the arts often provide an opening door for discussion about hard topics, the Palliative Care Institute at Western Washington University is collaborating with The Bellingham Theater Works (BTW), our local community repertory theater company, to mount a series of plays this summer through the Fairhaven Repertory Theater series.  Each play has a major character who has cancer.

The first play is WIT,Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play- a sardonic, funny, and heart-wrenching exploration of the puzzle of our irrevocable journey toward death, as seen through the eyes of a 50-year-old professor of English Literature who has been diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer.

On July 8th, as a special addition to the Repertory series, Megan Cole, who played the lead in this play in the original production at the South Coast Repertory in 1995, as well as in subsequent productions in Seattle, Houston and Austin, will present The Wisdom of “Wit” – a dramatized lecture about the lessons learned in WIT.  Megan leads the audience through the play’s gripping story, alternately acting every character and interpreting the play’s perspectives on important end-of-life issues.  Because Megan worked directly with the playwright during the premiere production, she is able to convey the playwright’s views in an entirely unique and informative way.

We also will be hosting an audience 'talk-back' after the Sunday, July 14th performance.  

Click on the Learn More link to find out about ticket prices and availability.

Click on the Register link to buy tickets

Because we know that the arts often provide an opening door for discussion about hard topics, the Palliative Care Institute at Western Washington University is collaborating with The Bellingham Theater Works (BTW), our local community repertory theater company, to mount a series of plays this summer through the Fairhaven Repertory Theater series.  Each play has a major character who has cancer.

The first play is WIT,Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play- a sardonic, funny, and heart-wrenching exploration of the puzzle of our irrevocable journey toward death, as seen through the eyes of a 50-year-old professor of English Literature who has been diagnosed with Stage IV ovarian cancer.

On July 8th, as a special addition to the Repertory series, Megan Cole, who played the lead in this play in the original production at the South Coast Repertory in 1995, as well as in subsequent productions in Seattle, Houston and Austin, will present The Wisdom of “Wit” – a dramatized lecture about the lessons learned in WIT.  Megan leads the audience through the play’s gripping story, alternately acting every character and interpreting the play’s perspectives on important end-of-life issues.  Because Megan worked directly with the playwright during the premiere production, she is able to convey the playwright’s views in an entirely unique and informative way.

We also will be hosting an audience 'talk-back' after the Sunday, July 14th performance.  

Click on the Learn More link to find out about ticket prices and availability.

Click on the Register link to buy tickets