Advance Care Planning means making decisions NOW about the medical care you want to receive in the future if you are seriously ill or injured and cannot speak for yourself.

Advance Care Planning, or ACP, is a process that is unique for everyone and can include having conversations with loved ones and your medical team, completion of an Advance Directive, POLST, or other form, and the submission of an ACP document to a hospital, emergency room, or clinic.

Advance Care Planning can be done by anyone over the age of 18, not just seniors or those with a chronic or terminal illness. It is a way to plan ahead for the future so if you ever experience a medical emergency and are unresponsive, your wishes have already been communicated to your medical team and your loved ones.

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One of the most important things we can do for ourselves and those we love is to ensure that our wishes are clear, and that they have been communicated to our loved ones and rendered in a way that is legally binding.

What types of medical care would you like and for how long? Is there a timeframe you want to keep in mind? What is an ideal quality of life for you? By answering these questions ahead of time, if a time comes where you cannot advocate for yourself, you have already made important and personalized decisions about your care.

Making decisions ahead of time gives you and your loved ones peace of mind. Choosing medical treatments for someone when you don't know what they want can result in guilt, grief, and conflict for everyone involved. Advance Care Planning removes the burden of decision making for your loved ones and makes sure your wishes are followed no matter what.

The MyCare Advance Directive is intended to be completed by individuals over the age of 18 with the mental capacity to make decisions, but does not require a doctor or attorney to be completed.

The MyCare Advance Directive is the most common Advance Directive form you will see in Santa Barbara and the one we work the most with at Get It Done SB! The MyCare was developed by multiple healthcare partners in the county including Cottage Hospital, and was created for uniformity for medical partners to find the information they need quickly and efficiently. It is a legal document that is valid in 42 states, not just California, and acts as a guideline for your healthcare.

The MyCare document is composed of four required sections, which include choosing a healthcare agent and making decisions about CPR, Life-Sustaining Treatments (LST), and organ donation. For each section, you are not only able to make specific decisions about your care but also write any special instructions that are not included in the document.

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A health care agent is the person you choose to make health care decisions for you if you’re unable to speak for yourself.

Your healthcare agent can be a family member, friend or someone who:

• Is 18 years or older

• Knows you well

• Agrees to accept this responsibility

• Can be trusted to honor your wishes and values

• Can make difficult decisions in stressful situations

• Can be calm and think clearly when talking with your medical providers, family, and friends

• Can be contacted easily by your medical providers

Your healthcare agent cannot be

• Your doctor

• A person who witnesses your signature on the MyCare Document

• Someone who works at the hospital, clinic, or facility where you receive medical care, unless he or she is a family member or domestic partner

• When you renew your driver’s license

• When you form a long-term relationship

• When you have a child

• When you have a high-risk job

• When you belong to the military

• When you retire

• When you sign up for Medicare

• When you have your annual physical

• When you have a health condition

• When you’re close to the end of your life

The best way to change your advance directive is by completing a new one so your health care goals are clear. Then you need to:

• Give new copies to your doctor, loved ones, and health care agent

• Destroy the old copies so your doctors, loved ones, and health care agents don’t get confused

The MyCare and Five Wishes Advance Directives provide guidelines for care and assign a healthcare agent to make decisions for you. The POLST form is ordered and signed by a physician while attorney-related documents such as a living trust and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare are usually completed with the help of a lawyer, but have specific differences in terms of when they come into effect and appointing someone with the authority to make medical decisions for you.

We seek to have everyone in the community, at any age  (18 and over) or stage of their lives, complete the MyCare Advance Care Directive document.

Get it Done SB! offers Advance Care Planning programs to help the South Santa Barbara community connect with friends and loved ones in quality of life conversations and how to express wishes about their medical care. We aim to strengthen families by equipping them with the tools to engage in these difficult conversations and most importantly, help individuals and their families complete and submit their MyCare document. 

We do this by:

• Providing free workshops and one-on-one services to help people complete and finalize their MyCare or other Advance Directive Forms

• Conducting annual trainings for community members to become Advance Care Planning facilitators and develop skills to help individuals complete their MyCare document

• Facilitating a campaign to raise awareness and education surrounding Advance Care Planning through local digital and print media

• Co-sponsoring a variety of conferences and community educational events related to our mission. See the Events page for upcoming special events that are open to the public.