Welcome to the July edition of the Advance Care Planning (ACP) Ontario newsletter.

Summer is here! And like a lot of people in Ontario, the longer and warmer days have us thinking about camping, family trips, cottage vacations, and spending time outdoors with family and friends.

Adding thinking about and planning for any healthcare needs you may have in the future to your summer preparation checklist is a good idea. Taking the time to have ACP conversations now can decrease your stress and stress experienced by your substitute decision maker.

We Have an App for That!

If your summer plans include spending as little time on your laptop as possible, but you want access to ACP information and tools, we have you covered.

Get the ACP Ontario APP! It provides information and tools to help individuals and families have important conversations about future health care decisions. Also included are resources and support for Health Care Providers about Advance Care Planning, Goals of Care, and Person-Centred Decision Making.

The app is free and you can download it on the App Store and get it on Google Play.

Advance Care Planning: It’s Not Just for the Elderly

Planning for future healthcare decisions is important for everyone in Ontario, it’s not just for the elderly. Summer vacation can be a good time to talk to your children and teens about ACP. There are fewer distractions such as homework and after-school activities, and scheduling is a little less frantic than during the school year when everyone is racing to get to the bus in the morning.

In Ontario, there is no age of consent. As long as a person is able to understand and appreciate the situation and the potential treatments (i.e. they are capable), then that person can make their own healthcare decisions, regardless of their age.

Our website is a great place to find information and resources for talking about ACP to children and teenagers.

ACP is also for healthy adults. Spending some time thinking about your own advance care planning can make conversations with young people easier.

Learn more about ACP for Different Groups of People

Summer Reading

Summer can also be a great time to catch up on your reading. Long summer days are perfect for taking the time to learn about things you know are important but seem impossible to get to when you’re endlessly shovelling your driveway or trying to meet deadlines.

Top of our recommendation list is the ACP Resource Guide. It was developed for anyone with questions about health care consent, advance care planning and substitute decision making. It includes the information that everyone needs to know to understand the health care decision making system in Ontario.

It’s online and organized into sections making it the perfect summer read.

Access the Resource Guide

Do you have stories, questions, or feedback on our newsletter? If so, we would love to hear from you. Send us an email to info@advancecareplanningontario.ca or call 1-800-349-3111 ext. 231 Monday to Friday, between 9:00 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. Eastern Time.

Advance Care Planning Ontario | 1-800-349-3111 | info@advancecareplanningontario.ca | www.advancecareplanningontario.ca

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Advance Care Planning Ontario is an initiative of Hospice Palliative Care Ontario. We gratefully acknowledge the support of the Government of Ontario in the creation of Advance Care Planning resources.