Overview

"One thing in life is certain. We're all going to die. No one wants to think about the end of life, much less talk about it, but it may be the most important conversation we'll ever have. Maggie Wannemacher learned this the hard way-when both of her parents died within days of each other, a trauma that forced her, as their caregiver, to decide ""when enough was enough."" In the aftermath, she and her siblings suffered for years from the lack of guidance and preparation that should have given them certainty and peace of mind when they needed it most. Now a hospital chaplain and hospice social worker, Wannemacher has experienced thousands of end-of-life conversations with patients and their families. These conversations have taught her one thing: there is a flaw in our health care system when it comes to implementing patients' wishes about end-of-life care. In this important work on Advance Care Planning, Maggie Wannemacher, MSW, LSW, lays out a plan to guide not only patients and their families, but all of us, to thoughtfully consider options beyond CPR and artificial ventilation in case of health crisis. Her real-life examples and step-by-step approach toward a Guided Conversation offer a way to restore the dignity and control patients often lose when they don't understand their rights and options. Wannemacher also includes a plan to implement community-wide efforts to stimulate and document comprehensive Advance Care Planning that follows the patient throughout the life cycle. This conversation shouldn't wait. Let's Talk About It. Now!"

Full Product Details

9781087911533

Table of Contents

Reviews

Author Information

"One of eleven children, Maggie Wannemacher grew up in a small Ohio town where she always had someone to share life's ups and downs. She confesses that as a junior at St. Francis University (Fort Wayne, IN), she made a decision to become a social worker without giving it much thought and had no idea what that work involved. Imagine her baptism by fire as a new grad when she took a position in substance abuse in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, in a community with a high incidence of drug addiction. Everyone needed education. Working directly with users, their families, and the community, she honed her interpersonal and communication skills to help individuals recognize and understand to what extent chemical dependency impacted their lives. Ten years later, she received her Master of Social Work with an emphasis on Research and Evaluation from the University of Michigan. In an unexpected twist, her career path veered toward technology, and she landed a position as a systems analyst in California until she returned to Ohio to care for her mother. Within a year after the deaths of her parents, Maggie was running multiple computer stores. She owned and managed her own businesses for the next twenty years. During that time, she put her skills as a social worker to good use. ""Being a boss was by far the most educational Social Work I've ever done. No one quite understands what it takes to manage all the personalities you hire. Then there are the customers, who take an entirely different method of management. All these experiences only added to the development of my communication repertoire for reading people and addressing difficult topics."" After two decades in business, Maggie was restless and yearned for work that would feed her soul. ""God had a new plan for me. I entered into the chaplaincy world, which brought an opportunity to work in hospice. These combined roles and all my past experiences have given me the ability to write this book. My own losses, although painful, have provided me with a mission to turn one of the most challenging conversations we'll all face-Death and End of Life Care-into something of an honor. With that being said, I ask that you allow me to help you TALK ABOUT IT NOW!"""

Tab Content 6

Countries Available