April 23, 2020
By Daren Heyland
Kingstonist
With COVID-19 media coverage continuing to represent front page news across many publications, Dr. Heyland felt it was important to share his opinion around why it’s so important that people receive the medical care that is right for them, during a serious illness. His opinion piece in the Kingstonist highlights that in order for someone to get the medical care that is right for them, they need to learn and understand how medical decisions are made when people are seriously ill, and what they have to say and how best to work with the doctors so they get the medical care that is right for them. It is important to note that any advance care planning that people may have done, has likely been focused on ‘end of life’ care, which will not be helpful in the current situation of COVID-19. Planning for end of life care, when you know for certain you are dying, is not the same as planning for serious illness. COVID-19 is an example of a serious illness where there is a probability of death, but as well as a probability of survival. Dr. Heyland strongly encourages people to prepare for serious illness and to go through the serious illness planning program available through the Plan Well Guide as it can help to ensure a sense of peace of mind, knowing that you have your serious illness plan in place.
To read the full article visit the link here: https://bit.ly/2VyfW0o
