GREEN VALLEY, Ariz. (KGUN) — How prepared are you for the unexpected? It’s a question that’s difficult for many to face — but crucial to ensuring your wishes are honored if you ever become unable to make decisions for yourself.
At the Desert Hills Recreation Center in Green Valley, the Pima Council on Aging (PCOA) hosted a forum this week to talk openly about end-of-life preparations, from wills to advance directives, giving older adults the tools to plan for their future and their families’ peace of mind.
According to AARP, only one-third of older adults have completed end-of-life documents such as wills or medical directives. PCOA Caregiving and Community Initiatives Director Deb Sang says that while most people share similar hopes for their final days, the reality often doesn’t match.
“Somewhere between 70 and 80 percent of older adults really wish to live out their final days in their homes,” Sang said. “Unfortunately, what we know is that about 70 to 80 percent of older adults die in healthcare facilities, often attached to significant medical delivery machines, and so it isn’t consistent with what their wishes are.”
Sang says advance directives, such as living wills and healthcare powers of attorney, can help bridge that gap by legally communicating someone’s wishes when they can’t speak for themselves.
“Having advance directives is a means of communicating those wishes and putting some legal authority to those wishes in a way that really matters,” Sang said.
Green Valley resident Kris Bean attended the forum, motivated by her own experiences working in long-term care facilities.
“I worked several years in a nursing home and I saw both ends of the spectrum,” Bean said. “I do know that I want some control, which is important to me at the end of life.”
Bean and her husband, who turns 80 this year, have started revisiting their plans and documents.
“It’s a hard conversation,” Bean said. “It’s not something you want to think about, but when the people you became close to are no longer there, that’s your clue that maybe you need to start looking at this stuff too.”
Sang says the difficulty of these conversations can often prevent family members from discussing the topic, at their peril. She says one of the barriers to having end-of-life conversations is thinking that bringing up the topic will hasten the instance of death. But she pushes back with a familiar metaphor.
“How many of us have a spare tire in our car? Most of us,” she said. “Does that mean we’re making a flat tire happen? No. It means that we’re prepared for if, or when, that flat tire happens.”
Sang emphasized that it’s never too early to start these discussions. In fact, she recommends adults begin thinking about advance directives as early as age 18, since serious illness or accidents can happen at any time. She also encourages reviewing plans every decade or after major life changes.
For those ready to take the next step, the Pima Council on Aging will host an event on November 1st to help people complete their own advance directives with guidance from local attorneys. The session runs from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Katie Dusenberry Healthy Aging Center, 600 S. Country Club Road in Tucson. Those interested can call (520) 790-7573 ext 5069 to reserve a spot.
More information can be found at the Pima Council on Aging website.
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Joel Foster is a multimedia journalist at KGUN 9 who previously worked as an English teacher in both Boston and the Tucson area. Joel has experience working with web, print and video in the tech, finance, nonprofit and the public sectors. In his off-time, you might catch Joel taking part in Tucson's local comedy scene. Share your story ideas with Joel at joel.foster@kgun9.com, or by connecting on Facebook, Instagram or X.
