Unique Effort to Engage Mayors to Lead ‘End of Life’ Care Discussions

Pennington, NJ – May 6, 2014 – The New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute (www.njhcqi.org) announced today its plans to launch a new program, through the Mayors Wellness Campaign, aimed at engaging the state’s mayors and other local officials to lead their communities in a dialogue on end-of-life care choices. The effort, called “The Conversation of a Lifetime,” is being conducted with the Mayors Wellness Campaign’s partner, the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (www.njslom.org).

Despite recent gains in public awareness of the need for advance care planning, an April 2014 “Health Matters” poll conducted by the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute and the Monmouth University Polling Institute shows that many New Jerseyans are still unaware of this need. More than half (54%) of the poll’s respondents indicate that they have no written document outlining their wishes for end-of-life care and treatment and almost two out of every four (38%) have never had a discussion about this important subject.

“We want to help the public understand the importance of making end-of-life health care decisions and give them the information, resources and tools to do so,” said Linda Schwimmer, Vice President of the New Jersey Health Care Quality Institute. “We can think of no better way to reach health care consumers than through their local mayors who have their attention and engage them in conversations routinely.”

“The Conversation of a Lifetime” will first be established through a pilot program in selected municipalities and later considered for statewide expansion as part of the Mayors Wellness Campaign.

For the full press release, click here.