PROFILE: Advance Care Planning Initiative
The mission of the Health District of Northern Larimer County is to enhance the health of the community and currently provides dental, mental health, prescription assistance, cholesterol and blood pressure testing, quit tobacco, health insurance assistance and advance care planning services to the residents of northern Larimer County.
Project Summary: The Larimer Advance Care Planning (ACP) Initiative is a collaborative project transforming how care providers are documenting, sharing, and honoring the final wishes expressed by community members, especially as individuals transition among various health services and care settings.
The ACP Team is highly trained in assisting older adults so that they are empowered to choose how they want to live by making and sharing their health-care choices. The team also provides training for organizations, care providers, churches, and others. Acting as focal point for community-wide ACP efforts, the team facilitates the sharing of documents, information, and common values around advance care planning.
Benefit to Colorado: Death continues to be a taboo subject in America and, frequently, individuals reach the end of their lives without planning for treatment or alerting loved ones to important decisions. The Health District of Northern Larimer County’s ACP Initiative is helping Coloradans prepare for these final moments with compassion and support.
Services began in June of 2016, with a target of having 1,500 advance directives completed and in place by March, 2018. By June of the same year, the team, in partnership with other agencies and volunteers, completed over 3,000 directives.
The Health District of Northern Larimer County is a member of CIVHC’s Advance Care Planning Workgroup. Please email info@civhc.org if you’d like more information about our workgroups.