DYING WHILE BLACKBALANCING PATIENT – FAMILY RELATIONS

Cheryl Patrice DerricotteADEC 37th Annual Conference, 4/11/15

Issue Lens:

• Immediate challenges w/terminal diagnosis;• Tools to share info with family & friends;• In-Home Support; • Difficult Topics;• Money Matters;• Affordable Document Prep, and• Culturally Competent Support.

Learning Goals

Today’s Presentation Will:

• Identify generational differences that influence comfort levels in sharing health information;

• Analyze class and financial issues that may impact decision-making by terminally ill patients and caregivers;

• Summarize traditional burial rituals of Black Americans and,

• Reflect on cultural nuances to help us all be better caregivers, advocates and support professionals.

Resources

• National Cancer Institutehttp://progressreport.cancer.gov/introduction

• American Cancer Society (See 2013-14) http://www.cancer.org/research/cancerfactsstatistics/cancer-facts-figures-for-african-americans

QUESTIONS?

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Cheryl Patrice Derricotte, Founder & Editor-in-Chief 30 Minute Managerhttp://www.30minutemanager.cominfo@30minutemanager.comwww.Facebook.com/30minutemanagerwww.twitter.com/30minutemanager

3rd Thurs of the Month “Ask Cheryl” (Noon PST)Free 30-minute Q & A on Legacy Planning http://www.30minutemanager.com/consultations/

BONUS! Post-Conference Notes

• Balancing relationships and privacy will need to be revisited as the patient’s illness progresses.

• Black patients who are old enough to have lived through segregation, may be more comfortable with Black professionals.

• Advocating for palliative care support immediately upon diagnosis will help the patient’s quality of life.

• Suggest that families use services like Freeconferencecall.com to update people in groups.

BONUS! Notes (Con’t)

• Social workers can also help families get counseling and therapy services to deal with things that fall into the categories of “secrets and shame.”

• We can all also help communicate that Medicaid is not a failure when you have been a working class person your whole life, but rather a strategy and a life support in the face of hundreds of thousands of dollars in hospital bills.

• Getting legal support to Black families is also critically important. RocketLawyer.com offers one free document to everyone.

• Be attuned to generational nuances in family structures.

Bonus! Notes (Con’t) Black Death Rituals• A traditional Black death ritual is Christian and has

four parts: • The wake. (The viewing of the body).• The funeral. (Service held at a church or the chapel

at the funeral home). • The interment. (The graveside service).• The repast. (The meal after the graveside service, at

the church or someone’s home).

AppendixCorresponding Book Chapters

• Coping with a terminal diagnosis (Chapter 1—Doctor Visits)• Mechanisms to share information with extended family and friends

(Chapter 11—Family & Friends)• Getting in-home support (Chapter 9 – Professional Help; Chapter 15-

Palliative Care)• Difficult topics (Chapter 13—Family Secrets)• The unexpected costs of terminal illness (Chapter 8 –Income & Health

Insurance; Chapters 18-20: Funeral,Cemetery & Cremation Costs).• Estate preparation tools (Chapters 4-7: Advance Directives, Power of

Attorney, Wills, &Trusts)• From my book: Being The Grown-Up, Taking Care of Someone With a

Terminal Illness (2013), ISBN 978-0989480307

THANK YOU!