Talking about end-of-life planning, choice, and care can be a touchy subject. No one wants to talk about our mortality. We don’t want to imagine the way we might die. We don’t want to tell our medical care team and loved ones what they should do for us if we are unable to speak for ourselves. If there is nothing more that can be done medically to get us back to living as fully as our age allows, what is it we want? More procedures? Additional experimental treatments? More tests? Or do we want a peaceful death that is as pain-free as possible?

The truth is, unless we plan for the kind of end-of-life care we want, it won’t happen.

For 25 years, the George Family Foundation has been investing in efforts to change the way health care systems care for us. We have invested over $22 million to bring a mind, body, spirit, and community approach to medical care in Minnesota and beyond. We want today’s health care to supplement the best of “Western” medicine with non-invasive treatments and practices that enhance healing and well-being. We want the spirit (not religion, per se) returned to health care, where practitioners can be as nurtured as their patients. We want easy access to massage, acupuncture, therapeutic yoga, breath work, and mind-body techniques provided by highly skilled practitioners–all of which have been proven to increase healing, decrease anxiety, and support overall well-being.

Over the past seven years, the George Family Foundation has supported organizations that encourage individuals to invest time in end-of-life discussions and planning with our loved ones and with health care teams.

Read the full article about end of life care by Gayle Ober at Grantmakers In Health.