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Trump admin plans to cut more than 70,000 jobs at Dept. of Veterans Affairs, memo says; Industrial farming in NC, US becomes breeding ground for bird flu; Possible closure of US Dept. of Education 'devastating' for VA; Jack Daniels' maker says Canada pulling US alcohol off shelves 'worse than tariff'; Cuts looming for WA tribal public-health funding.

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Medicaid and tribal health providers face possible cuts, corporations are accused of squeezing out independent farmers, and immigration lawyers say Hispanic motorists are being stopped based on how they look.

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Activists work to protect immigrant communities as ICE reach expands, experts urge lawmakers to ramp up elder abuse protections in rural America, and a multistate arts initiative crafts ways to close the urban-rural divide.

New toolkit helps LGBTQ+ people make end-of-life decisions

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Wednesday, August 28, 2024   

LGBTQ+ Americans are twice as likely to experience discrimination in health care, including as they age, according to a new survey from the Kaiser Family Foundation.

Now, a nonprofit advocacy group called Sage has created the LGBTQ+ LGBTQ+ Advance Care Planning Toolkit.

Eliza Giles, a nurse practitioner specializing in geriatric care, created the online resource.

"The toolkit is an A to Z guide on conversations, documentation and considerations if you're well, or if you have a serious illness and want access to caregiver resources, advice about palliative care," Giles outlined.

The toolkit explains how to appoint a health care proxy who can visit you in the hospital and make medical decisions if you are incapacitated. The site also helps people spell out their wishes on caregivers, hospice and palliative care and funeral or memorial arrangements.

Osha Towers, LGBTQ+ engagement director for the nonprofit Compassion & Choices, said without advance planning, end-of-life decisions can bypass people closest to you and fall to family members who may have had little to no contact for years.

"There's plenty of us that have gone to funerals with people that don't look like they looked as they live their lives," Towers noted. "Because their family decided to make the choice that they want to erase that part of their identity."

The toolkit also covers estate planning, creating a will, and organ donation.

Disclosure: Compassion & Choices contributes to our fund for reporting on Civic Engagement, Health Issues, Senior Issues, and Social Justice. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


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