March 30, 2020
By Wency Leung
Health Reporter, The Globe and Mail
On March 27th Daren Heyland, Critical Care Physician and Creator of Plan Well Guide was interviewed by Wency Yeung, a health reporter from the Globe and Mail to discuss the recent COVID-19 pandemic. The focus of the article was around the importance Canadians need to be placing on planning ahead for this serious illness as the Coronvirus continues to sweep the nation. Dr. Heyland explained how important it is for people to learn and understand how medical decisions are made when they are seriously ill and what they have to say and how best to work with the doctors, so they are getting the medical care that is right for them. Dr. Heyland spoke about a major issue surrounding the current health crisis, which is how any Advance Care Planning (ACP) that people may have previously done, has likely been focused on ‘end of life’ care which is not going to be helpful in the current context 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, Advance Serious Illness Preparations and Planning (ASIPP). Dr. Heyland urged people to start planning for serious illness where there’s a possibility of death, but also survival, due to how the Coronavirus works – it’s a serious illness but not always a fatal illness.
A reference to ASIPP was made in the article, highlighting how people can visit Plan Well Guide, for additional resources and guidance, by simply going online to planwellguide.com to learn more.
To read the full article visit the link here: https://tgam.ca/2Vrozc0
