Lolita Melhado, a nurse practitioner with 18 years in palliative care, hospice provider and member of the Compassion & Choices Healthcare Advisory Council, said despite decades of discussion, advance care planning remains difficult. She is helping promote a new, affordable online certificate program from Compassion & Choices and the Goals of Care Coalition of New Jersey to train health professionals to lead more effective conversations grounded in patients' values.
Related: Florida TaxWatch urges stronger hospice and palliative care policies for aging population.
"I think it’s time for us to change the narrative, to think of advanced care planning," Melhado urged. "Not as a checklist of things that the patient has to say yes or no to, but more around having goals of conversation where you’re trying to understand the person’s values."
Melhado pointed out that the self-guided, accredited course uses innovative methods, including humorous skits, to teach health professionals how to improve crucial discussions with patients and families. A list of end-of-life resources and organizations is also available from the Florida Department of Health.
Melhado emphasized that having conversations early is critical, as people often resist the possibility of death during a medical crisis.
"That’s why having these conversations early on before you get ill is so important," Melhado stressed. "So that your family and the doctors and your friends, and even the person that you assigned to be your health care surrogate, will know what your wishes are."
The program aims to equip professionals across the country to ensure that patient values guide their care, especially those caring for Florida's large aging population.
Key Points:
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National Hospice and Palliative Care Month highlights the need for better end-of-life communication and planning.
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Lolita Melhado, a Florida palliative care expert and member of the Compassion & Choices Healthcare Advisory Council, says advance care planning should prioritize understanding patient values.
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A new, affordable online certificate program uses innovative tools—including humorous skits—to train health professionals in guiding effective, compassionate conversations.
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The Florida Department of Health offers additional end-of-life resources to help patients and families navigate decisions before a crisis occurs.
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Early conversations ensure that patient wishes are clearly known to families, surrogates, and clinicians, particularly important for Florida’s growing older population.
