According to the South Dakota Department of Health, only one in three South Dakotans have completed an advance directive, which is a document that states what kind of health care treatment an individual would want to receive, or not want to receive, if they could not speak for themselves.

Learn about advance care planning by joining Leacey Brown, SDSU Extension Gerontology Field Specialist, and Theresa Garren-Grubbs, SDSU undergraduate nursing instructor, for a webinar titled, “What is advance care planning and how to use it,” on July 15 at noon (CDT).

“Advance care planning can be difficult,” Brown said. “These discussions require individuals to explore what types of care they would like to receive when they cannot make decisions themselves. Sometimes the decisions are extremely difficult because they involve ending life-sustaining treatment.”

According to Garren-Grubbs, patients and families typically report greater satisfaction with the healthcare they received when they had an advance directive. The healthcare teams are also more satisfied because they know the care they provided honored the wishes of the patient.

“When families talk about this before a crisis, it can make things a little easier,” Garren-Grubbs said.

There is no cost to participate in the webinar, but registration is required. Please register by July 13 by visiting the SDSU Extension Events page and search for the webinar titled “What is advance care planning and how to use it” or visit https://extension.sdstate.edu/event/what-advance-care-planning-and-how-use-it-webinar.

For more information, contact Leacey Brown, SDSU Extension Gerontology Field Specialist, at 605.394.1722 or leacey.brown@sdstate.edu