People Planning Ahead ensures that people proceed through end-of-life care with minimum adversity and maximum dignity

WASHINGTON, Jan. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Helping someone make healthcare and end-of-life decisions is one of the most profound services any of us can provide. Yet, for the unprepared, it can be one of the most difficult tasks. People Planning Ahead: A Guide to Communicating Healthcare and End-of-Life Wishes is a new user-friendly manual that provides a step-by-step planning system to help people through healthcare and end-of-life planning in a way that is respectful and person centered. Written for professionals in social work, disability, and geriatric care as well as for families, People Planning Ahead is published by the American Association on Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (AAIDD).

"Given that more and more people are now experiencing chronic and sometimes terminal illnesses that come with advancing age, it is imperative we know how to plan around healthcare decisions and end-of-life issues," explains author Leigh Ann Creaney Kingsbury, an experienced gerontologist and disability services planner. "People Planning Ahead helps caregivers create a basic plan based on the person's values, goals, and what matters most to them about living."

People Planning Ahead is unique because it is based on the principles of Essential Lifestyle Planning, an approach that ensures that the person remains the chief focus -- not their medical condition or other extraneous matters. Also, the book allows the caregiver to assist a person no matter where they are on the wellness continuum, from healthy adults to those diagnosed with a terminal illness. People Planning Ahead comes with a CD-ROM with electronic forms from the manual to help record and store information on the person receiving care.

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