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Better Ending Prepares Thanksgiving Campaign
Outreach Promotes Conversation Before the Crisis
4-Day Holiday Weekend Target of End-of-Life Educational Effort
(Worcester, MA, November 7, 2005)—Too few citizens in Central Massachusetts have ensured their final wishes through a Health Care Proxy. In response, the non-profit initiative Better Ending is sponsoring a seasonal outreach campaign to encourage families to ask the important questions, and take action. “A Time to Give Thanks, A Time to Give Thought” will promote—via multimedia events throughout November—the importance of “conversations before the crisis” to communicate one’s position on end-of-life care. The campaign will culminate over the four-day Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a time of year when most American families gather together.
The Better Ending initiative is a project of the Central Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life, Inc. The Partnership is a community coalition of professional, civic, business and religious leaders committed to the vision that all persons in Central Massachusetts live their last days in this life as comfortably as possible, in the setting of their choice, according to their expressed wishes, while they and their families are supported by a caring community.
During November, the A Time to Give Thanks, A Time to Give Thought campaign will be multifaceted, utilizing print, radio, and TV outlets. The campaign will encourage individuals and families to obtain a copy of A Guide for a Better Ending, the signature publication of Better Ending. The Guide may be found and downloaded at www.BetterEnding.org, where a complete list of current pick up sites is also available. Additionally, copies may be requested—free of charge within Central MA—by calling 508.767.9877.
Better Ending’s new multicultural versions of the Guide—all of which, like the English language original, contain information, advice, and the all-important forms for Health Care Proxy and Personal Wishes Statement—reach out to the Latino, Vietnamese, and African-American residents of Central MA.
“National news coverage of the tragic Terri Schiavo case earlier this year underscored the lack of attention given to end-of-life planning,” said Christine McCluskey, RN, Executive Director, Central MA Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life, Inc. “As a counter to this unfortunate reality, Better Ending has created tools and training programs to educate individuals, families, caregivers, and employers on the importance of completing such essential documents as a Health Care Proxy Form and Personal Wishes Statement. The Thanksgiving holiday weekend is such a convenient time for families to discuss their final wishes. We hope that residents of Central MA will have the conversation before the crisis over these four days, for the benefit of their loved ones and themselves.”
The Better Ending initiative is fully described on the web site www.BetterEnding.org. Through Better Ending’s Speakers Bureau, volunteers are available—at no charge—to appear before Central MA community groups and work places that are interested in learning about advance care planning and other end-of-life issues.
Founded in 2002, The Central Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life, Inc. is supported through the generosity of many grantors and in-kind donors including businesses, health care institutions, foundations, and individuals.
For further information, contact Christine McCluskey, RN, Executive Director, Central Massachusetts Partnership to Improve Care at the End of Life, Inc. at (508) 767-9877 or visit www.BetterEnding.org.
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