Advanced Care Planning
Why Create an Advanced Care Plan?
Creating an advanced care plan is essential because it ensures your healthcare preferences are known and respected in situations where you may be unable to communicate them yourself. It provides clarity and guidance to your loved ones and healthcare providers, reducing uncertainty and stress during critical moments. Advanced care planning allows you to express your values, goals, and wishes regarding medical treatments, life-sustaining measures, and end-of-life care. This proactive approach promotes autonomy, helps prevent unnecessary or unwanted interventions, and supports informed decision-making. Ultimately, an advanced care plan helps protect your dignity and quality of life, while also offering peace of mind to both you and your family.
Workshops Coming…
We understand how hard it can be to get started, to know what to include in an Advanced Care Plan and to contemplate some of the most personal and difficult decisions each of us and our loved ones will face one day. For some there is comfort in tackling end-of-life planning with the help of others. In 2025 GIMS began collecting information to put together an Advanced Care Planning Kit. We have a number of printed copies and make them available at events we host or attend. We are currently working on a facilitation outline for an Advanced Care Planning Workshop we hope to roll out in the Spring of 2026. We plan to offer it a few times a year to the community and to small groups of friends or family on request when possible.
Our Thanks to the Province of BC
Most of the material we use is from the Province of BC. Click on the BC Logo to access the Advanced Care Planning Website which has lots of good information including videos and links to resources including the My Voice: Expressing My Wishes for Future Health Care Treatment booklet. It is available in multiple languages on the website; for direct access to the english version you can click on the book cover icon below.
If you need help finding the guide online, give HealthLink BC a call at 8-1-1.
Advanced Care Planning Webpage
Getting Started with Advance Care Planning
Basic Steps for Capable Adults
1. Think about your beliefs, values and wishes for future health care treatment. Have conversations with family/friends, physicians, and health care providers.
2. Write down your beliefs, values and wishes for future health care treatment. Decide what health care treatments you will or won't accept.
3. Write down the contact information for the people who could be individually asked to be your temporary substitute decision maker (TSDM) if a health care decision is needed for you.
*Introduction adapted from the My Voice: Expressing My Wishes for Future Health Care Treatment Quick Tips Page.
Types of Advanced Care Agreements
Standard Representation Agreement
To name a specific person to make decisions on your behalf, you will need to complete a Standard Representation Agreement. This agreement will allow an adult with a lower level of capability to name a representative to make their routine financial management decisions, personal care decisions and some health care decisions. It does not allow the representative to refuse life support or life prolonging medical interventions.
Enhanced Representation Agreement
Allows you to name a representative to make your personal care decisions and some health care decisions, including decisions to accept or refuse life support or life-prolonging medical interventions. Does not allow the representative to make financial or legal decisions on your behalf (see enduring power of attorney).
Advance Directive
Allows you to state your decisions about accepting or refusing health care treatments directly to a health care provider. The advance directive must be followed when it addresses the health care decision needed at the time. No one will be asked to make a decision for you.
Enduring Power of Attorney
Allows you to appoint someone to make financial and legal decisions on your behalf if you become incapable.
*More information and template agreements are available in the My Voice: Expressing My Wishes for Future Health Care Treatment Booklet.
When you have completed your plan make sure to:
✔ Put your documentation in a safe, accessible place and give copies to physicians, health care providers, representative(s), family/friends.
✔ Review, change or cancel your advance care plan as needed.