Fraser Health’s Advance Care Planning and the Tonari Gumi Japanese Community Volunteers Association hosted two education sessions and a workshop event for Japanese Canadians living in Surrey, BC on July 24th.
There seems no better place for an Advance Care Planning information session than alongside a group who calls themselves, Minna No Tsudoi which means “A gathering for everyone”. A partnership between the Association and Fraser Health’s ACP team accomplished just that!
The Association translated the power point presentation so folks could follow along visually as well as provided verbal translations throughout the session. A Japanese workbook, created by Dr. Yoshiyuki Kizawa, was utilized with his permission. He has led the development of Advance Care Planning practices in Japan, which he credits and states is influenced by Canada and Fraser Health’s leadership, and innovation.
Lauren Thomas & Lisa Laflamme, Advance Care Planning clinicians in Fraser Health who co-led the sessions with Keiko Funahashi, Reaching Out Program Coordinator, were touched by the respect, and graciousness between the participants. They felt honoured to be invited to share their ACP knowledge.
Keiko, who provided the verbal translations during the sessions and is becoming an expert on this topic herself, commented that the people who attended let her know:
- “The presentation was interesting and easy to follow.”
- “they particularly liked the real life examples of what is important to people such as having pets in their life or eating bacon and eggs.”
- “Others felt the team was great at engaging the audience with questions.”
For more information about Fraser Health’s Advance Care Planning resources: www.fraserhealth.ca/acp