LAHEY HEALTH JOINS HONORING CHOICES MASSACHUSETTS

A few days ago we had a chance to talk with Marie, who will enthusiastically tell you that, “I have great conversations with my Lahey doctors.” With a bright smile she adds, “everyone takes the time to listen – really listen.” Then, turning thoughtful she wonders aloud about her  “condition and life prolonging treatments.”

As a patient at Lahey Health, Marie is being treated for chronic respiratory disease. Her father had the same disease so she’s  “seen how bad this can get.” She knows she wants to live as well as possible and “to have some control and prepare my family.”  As we talk Marie’s smile fades a little as she adds, “the truth is, I’m not sure how to start this conversation and hope my doctor will.”

Today we are delighted to announce that Lahey Health is the first healthcare system in the Commonwealth to become an Honoring Choices Community Partner. By joining us in this way Lahey Health is partnering with Honoring Choices  to “further our mission of delivering high-quality, high-value healthcare,” according to Gregory Bazylewicz, MD, Chief Network Development Officer for Lahey Health. “Clinicians throughout Lahey Health have long honored and respected the healthcare choices of the patients and families we are privileged to serve.”

The partnership will incorporate the Honoring Choices model in the clinical settings at Lahey Health’s acute care hospitals and affiliated provider and physician groups. Through recognizing Marie’s need for information and the delicate process of exploring her fears, Lahey Health intends to employ the Honoring Choices model to “foster patient-clinician dialogue about the patient’s health care plan, ensuring that the patient and his or her wishes remain at the center of all that we do.”

Read more about how Lahey Health works in partnership with patients and their families at Meet Our Community Partners.