In This Issue
MyCare - Santa Barbara's own Advance Healthcare Directive
 
Since its inception, the Alliance for Living and Dying well has helped people in Santa Barbara complete their Advance Care Directives. For most of that time, the Alliance used an advance directive called Five Wishes © in our community workshops. As a result, many people have Five Wishes © document completed and on file at Cottage Health and/or Sansum Clinic.  

A few years ago, the Alliance began researching the possibility of creating our own directive for Santa Barbara County. A steering committee was formed and after several years of planning, they compiled and approved a new Advance Care Directive for Santa Barbara: MyCare.  

MyCare serves the same legal function as Five Wishes, but is more streamlined, easier to read and generally takes less time to complete. The Alliance has begun using MyCare in all its community  workshops.

NOTE: If you've completed a Five Wishes document, it remains legal and valid and no changes are required.

Cottage Health has taken the lead in production and distribution of the new MyCare documents. Their Advance Care Planning Center can be reached via email at mycare@sbch.org. 


A Word From  Our 
Executive Director
Our work is all about fostering conversations about the end of life and advance care planning, and this month we're pleased to roll out a new Advance Health Care Directive that Alliance has helped to develop, in partnership with others in the Santa Barbara community, called MyCare. I hope you'll read more about this new directive below. We continue to look for opportunities throughout the area to have community conversations, and last month I gave a presentation to a group from Santa Barbara Village as part of our "Empowered Aging" monthly lecture series. Finally, be sure to mark your calendars for a special course, Dying in Grace, at SBCC's Center for Lifelong Learning on October 28. 

We have a full lineup of workshops this month. See the schedule below and consider joining us.

As always, thank you for your continued support and interest in what's new at the Alliance.
 
-Susan Plummer
Executive Director

Sept. 11  Advance Care Planning Community Workshop, Sansum Clinic, 15 Pesetas Lane (3rd  Floor Conference Room), 10:00 - 12:00noon. Call (805) 845-5314 or 
 
Sept. 13   Advance Care Planning Community Workshop, Visiting Nurse & Hospice Care, 602 E. Montecito St., (Community Room), 4:00 - 6:00 pm. Call (805) 845-5314 or 

Sept. 19   Advance Care Planning Community Workshop, Valle Verde Retirement Community, 900 Calle De Los Amigos (Community Room), 3:30 - 5:30pm. Call (805) 845-5314 or  register online here. 

Sept. 20 Advance Care Planning Community Workshop, Unitarian Society of Santa Barbara, 1535 Santa Barbara St., 1:00 pm - 3:00 pm. Call (805) 845-5314 or  register online here.

Sept. 20  Advance Care Planning Community Workshop, Garden Court, 1116 De La Vina St., 3:00 - 5:00 pm. Call (805) 845-5314 or  register online here. 

For more information about Alliance For Living and Dying Well,
visit our website.
Alliance for Living 
and Dying Well
2040 Alameda Padre Serra, 
Suite 110
Santa Barbara, CA  93103
(805) 845-5314
Alliance for Living and Dying Well Outreach


Last month, Alliance Executive Director Susan Plummer gave a presentation to a group from Santa Barbara Village, a local non-profit online community for seniors. The talk, part of the "Empowered Aging" monthly lecture series, began and ended with poetry, as befits a discussion about life and death and how to find meaning in both. Questions on subjects from the practical to the ethereal were discussed, and attendees spoke among themselves about what makes life worth living.  Also discussed was the importance of Advance Care Planning and completing an Advance Healthcare Directive.  If your group or organization is interested in the work of the Alliance for Living and Dying well, please contact us at 805-845-5314 or email us at info@allianceforlivinganddyingwell.org.

Learn About LifeChronicles at The Arc of Your Life!


Santa Barbara Village and the University Club of Santa Barbara are hosting The Arc of Your Life! presentation as part of the Empowered Aging Series on Tuesday, Sept. 12 from 2-3:30pm at the University Club (1332 Santa Barbara St.). The presentation will feature Kate Carter, founder and president of LifeChronicles, who will share stories from her work with LifeChronicles. LifeChronicles creates video legacies that allow older or seriously ill people to leave meaningful messages for their families, These videos also serve as a record of life lessons and memories for generations to come. To make a reservation for the presentation, or for more information about Santa Barbara Village and the Empowered Aging Series, contact Cyndi Pipes, Santa Barbara Village Coordinator, at (805) 729-5038 or coordinator@sbvillage.org.
Join Us For A Workshop!

We hope you'll join us for an Advance Care Planning Community Workshop sometime this fall, and let trained facilitators guide you in making important decisions about your end-of-life wishes. As always, our workshops are free of charge and open to the public.  Call 805-845-5314 or click here to register.
Support the Alliance
The Alliance for Living and Dying Well is a collaboration of Santa Barbara area agencies that seek a seamless, compassionate continuum of end-of-life care, including:  
The Alliance for Living and Dying well is 100% privately funded, and all services are provided to the Santa Barbara community free of charge. Your donation will help to make our community healthier, support the Alliance today.    Click here    to learn more!