Who’s Your Agent? Multicultural, Multilingual Seniors “Get Started” with a Translated Health Care Proxy!

The Honoring Choices Health Care Planning Ambassadors start powerful health care planning discussions with consumers anywhere they live, work and gather. Our free Getting Started Tool Kit includes a Massachusetts Health Care Proxy, available in 10 languages, so adults can choose a trusted person as their Health Care Agent,  and complete a Health Care Proxy document in their own language. The Worcester Senior Center, an Honoring Choices Community Partner, has long recognized the rich diversity in the elder population of Worcester. The Senior Center’s African American, Albanian, Bhutanese, Chinese, Latino and Vietnamese Elder Groups meet regularly to share cultures and participate in events.  Working together with Linda Wincek-Moore and Yung Phan, Worcester Senior Center, we are co-hosting a free Honoring Choices “What’s In Your Plan?” workshop series for their multicultural, multilingual members.  Denise Skrocki, Director, Honoring Choices Health Care Planning Ambassador Program, will lead community group workshops to help adults get started on making a personal health care plan by completing a Health Care Proxy. The African American community group can fill out a Health Care Proxy and Personal Directive using the English version. With the assistance of an interpreter, the Arabic, Vietnamese, Chinese, Albanian and Latino community groups can fill out a Health Care Proxy in their own language using our translated documents, and ask questions to better understand the document and make informed choices.  Group members using the translated documents then transfer the information to a Health Care Proxy in English. Members make copies of their documents and give a copy to their Health Care Agent, and a copy to their physicians to place in their medical record. You can read more about the workshop series on the Ambassador webpage. Many thanks to Linda Wincek-Moore and Yung Phan and the Worcester Senior Center, to help adults exercise their right to direct their health care decisions and make a plan.