We are here to help you reach the end on your terms
Let me speak in plain English:
Either you or a loved one has been diagnosed with a terminal illness or you have suffered a chronic illness and are now having questions about end of life and you’re wanting to discuss your life and your ending. It’s not easy. Everyone is giving you attention but you may still feel a little lost, alone, and invisible. We have found often the patient wants to discuss these issues but the doctor and even their family do not want to talk about these topics. This is NOT an easy experience. It’s emotional. It’s scary, frustrating, confusing, and a lot to handle.
Furthermore: Do you really know if you’ve heard all your options from all these professionals? And you may not fully understand your options. How do you keep up and still enjoy the remaining life and health you do have during all this chaos? Should you choose palliative care or hospice ? Which one? Are you on a hospice and not getting what you want?
It’s a lot for a healthy person to manage on their own. It’s even more exhausting and daunting for someone to handle when they were recently diagnosed with a terminal illness or facing the end of their life.
This is where patient advocates step in.
We are here for you.
We are the rock keeping things grounded
My name is Karen Morin. I’m an Oncology and Hospice RN based in Los Angeles. I started LA Patient Advocates to help you and your family.
Maybe you are the patient, or maybe your friend or family member is the patient. My consultants and I are here for “you” and/or “them.” We help make up your “team”.
Consider us the rock that keeps you grounded and secure during these trying times. We want to keep you steady so you can focus on the quality of your life and values and make the best decisions possible.
My consultants provide information on all of the options available today in California whether you have a terminal diagnosis or are at the end of your life.
LA Patient Advocates does not endorse or encourage any one particular end-of-life plan or option. Our goal is to educate people on all of the choices available and how to access and understand each plan. It is each individuals choice to either implement a long term plan concerning their wishes, or make an end-of-life decision.
Our goal is to help facilitate choices that reflect the wishes and values of the patient living with the disease. We provide information, advocacy, and support regarding all end-of-life choices and options. We believe that if individuals do not have complete information about the pros and cons of various options, they will not be able to make an informed decision about death and dying.
We can help with effective ways to communicate with health care providers, as well as family members who may have difficulty accepting the patient’s end-of-life choices.
in your corner to help
Our team provides Advocacy and support for clients whose wishes are not being met or who are not getting adequate pain or symptom management.
We meet with families to help facilitate discussions about the patient’s end-of-life wishes.
And we Provide support and reassurance to the client as they navigate their way through the process of accessing medical aid in dying.
We are willing to advocate for them if necessary, such as helping the client find physicians willing to prescribe and facilitate a conversation with physicians or hospice to help clients get needed services including but not limited to adequate pain control.
Other things we can help you with:
Weigh the benefits of palliative and hospice care
Evaluate hospices
Complete advance directives
Teach friends and family members how they can advocate for their loved ones
Ensure patients are receiving effective pain and symptom management
Be present to provide support for patient or family at Medical Aid in Dying for terminally ill, mentally capable adults
Discuss other methods for attaining a peaceful death, such as
voluntarily stopping eating and drinking (VSED)
refusing unwanted medical treatment or discontinuing life-sustaining treatment
Compassionate, patient-centered end-of-life care
Accompany a dying person, their family, and their friends through the spiritually transformative experience of dying.
Educate the dying and their family about what to expect throughout the process.
The list goes on.
Death and dying can be difficult subjects. We are comfortable having these conversations. We are free from judgment, honoring all individuals regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, age, disability, culture, ethnicity, or any other factor. We offer language interpreter services. . We are not a religious organization, nor do we promote any one ethical perspective or belief system. And we offer pointers on opening the dialogue between family-and-patient and patient-and-physician so that you can be sure that your voice and wishes will be honored and your death will be on your terms.