The advance care planning (ACP) Facilitator is an emerging role in healthcare. ACP Facilitators are instrumental in helping individuals, their families, and their loved ones become more engaged in person-centered decision making. If ACP conversations were easy, they would be more commonplace than they are today. The role of the ACP Facilitator is a critical component to achieving the ACP desired outcome—to know and honor an individual’s informed healthcare decisions. Because ACP is not a one-size-fits-all conversation, ACP Facilitators must be trained to have conversations with individuals at different stages of health and in different settings of care. ACP Facilitators add value to an organization and community and are central to any program’s success.
The value of the Facilitator role is demonstrated through:
- Timely and appropriate referrals for ACP services,
- The person-centered decisions individuals and families are assisted in making,
- The overwhelmingly positive individual and family satisfaction with this role, and
- Professional competence and confidence in providing skilled facilitation and delivering care that is consistent with an individual’s goals, values, and beliefs.