Advance Care Planning for LGBTQ+ Community
It’s estimated that there are over 2.7 million LGBTQ adults over the age of 50 and 1.1 million 65 and older. The numbers are projected to reach over 5 million in the next few years. The importance of Advance Planning for LGBTQ+ older adults cannot be overstated. There are a variety of reasons why this is especially important to the LGBTQ+ community and they include:
- Laws and a legal landscape that may not be supportive of the LGBTQ+ community in advance care and some laws maybe harmful to end of life wishes of an LGBTQ+ older adult
- Family may not be the preferred decision maker
- May not have traditional caregivers in place
It is not just important to tell people in your personal circle what your wishes are. These wishes can range from Health Care Proxy and Living Wills; to what do you want after death and how do you want your life to be honored. These are very personal issues to everyone but it is especially important for LGBTQ+ older adults to have legal documents specifically expressing those desires. Most LGBTQ+ older adults can all share with you a story where of individuals who have a had distant family come in and take over for the person who is dying not honoring that individual or of having express wants and needs discarded by health care professions.
Things for LGBTQ+ older adults to consider in Advance Planning include but not limited to:
- Health Care Proxy- each state has different laws for handling this if no health care proxy is specified
- Living Will
- Financial and Estate planning
- Emergency Folder
- Engaging Death Doula
- End of Life planning
- After death
As we continue to age in an ever-changing landscape for the LGBTQ+ community there are resources that can help ensure we can age with dignity and our values, beliefs and wants be honored and celebrated.
For more information, tools and resources for LGBTQ+ older adults and for providers wanting to ensure culturally competent practices when serving this community, head over to SAGE National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging and access their free tool: SAGE: National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging.
Reamey Belski is a Certified End of Life Doula and Advanced care consultant who is culturally competent in serving the Richmond the Richmond LGBTQ+ older adult population. For more information visit: https://lnkd.in/ekpyseMk
