Aging with Dignity is a national non-profit organization based in Tallahassee, Florida. The stated mission of Aging with Dignity is to "honor the God-given human dignity of the most vulnerable among us." The primary focus of Aging with Dignity is to improve end-of-life care by encouraging people to make medical decisions in advance of a serious illness.

History

Aging with Dignity was founded in 1996 by Jim Towey

Jim Towey

Jim Towey served as Director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and as Assistant to President George W. Bush from 2002 to May 2006. He served as president of Saint Vincent College, a small Catholic university in Latrobe, Pennsylvania from 2006 until stepping down on...

, who was inspired by his twelve years of work as legal counsel for Mother Teresa of Calcutta. Founding advisory board members include former Florida Governors Lawton Chiles

Lawton Chiles

Lawton Mainor Chiles, Jr. was an American politician from the US state of Florida. In a career spanning four decades, Chiles, a Democrat who never lost an election, served in the Florida House of Representatives , the Florida State Senate , the United States Senate , and as the 41st Governor of...

, Jeb Bush

Jeb Bush

John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...

, and Bob Graham

Bob Graham

Daniel Robert "Bob" Graham is an American politician. He was the 38th Governor of Florida from 1979 to 1987 and a United States Senator from that state from 1987 to 2005...

, Assistant Secretary on Aging Josefina Carbonell and US Senator Bill Nelson

Bill Nelson

Clarence William "Bill" Nelson is the senior United States Senator from the state of Florida and a member of the Democratic Party. He is a former U.S. Representative and former Treasurer and Insurance Commissioner of Florida...

 among others. Initial support was provided by the Claude Pepper Foundation, the Harry & Jeannette Weinberg Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation is the United States' largest philanthropy devoted exclusively to health and health care; it is based in Princeton, New Jersey. The foundation's mission is to improve the health and health care of all Americans...

http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=16040&catid=17&typeid=132&gsa=1http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?id=16478&catid=17&typeid=132&gsa=1.

Leadership

In addition to founding Aging with Dignity, Jim Towey served as President until his appointment in 2002 as director of the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives. He was succeeded by current President Paul Malley.

Five Wishes

Five Wishes

Five Wishes

Five Wishes is a national advance directive created by the non-profit organization Aging with Dignity. It has been described as the "living will with a heart and soul."-History:...

 is a national advance directive that meets the legal requirements in 42 States and the District of Columbia.http://www.agingwithdignity.org/five-wishes-states.php A Florida-only version was introduced in 1997, followed by a national version in 1998. An online version called Five Wishes Online was introduced in April 2011 allowing users to complete the document using an online interface or print out a blank version to complete by hand. More than 14 million documents are in circulation, distributed by more than 23,000 organizations worldwide http://www.agingwithdignity.org/five-wishes.php. The document combines two legal documents, a living will

Living will

An advance health care directive, also known as living will, personal directive, advance directive, or advance decision, are instructions given by individuals specifying what actions should be taken for their health in the event that they are no longer able to make decisions due to illness or...

 and health care power of attorney

Health care proxy

A Health Care Proxy is an instrument that allows a patient to appoint an agent to make health care decisions in the event that the primary individual is incapable of executing such decisions. Once the document is drafted, the primary individual continues to be allowed to make health care decisions...

in addition to addressing matters of comfort care, spirituality, forgiveness, and final wishes.

Translations

With support from the United Health Foundation, Five Wishes has been translated into 25 different languageshttp://www.agingwithdignity.org/translated-five-wishes.php: Albanian; Arabic; Bengali; Chinese Traditional; Chinese Simplified; Croatian; French; German; Gujarati; Haitian Creole; Hebrew; Hindi; Hmong; Ilocano; Italian; Japanese; Korean; Polish; Portuguese; Russian; Somali; Spanish; Tagalog; Urdu; Vietnamese. The grant-based project targets populations who speak limited or no English and are often under served.

My Wishes

My Wishes is a pediatric document that helps children communicate how they want to be treated if they become very sick. Based on Five Wishes and developed by child life professionals, My Wishes was introduced nationally in May 2006. The document seeks to empower children to make their wishes known, and to facilitate communication with family and health care providers. The My Wishes document is also available in Spanish (Mis Deseos).http://www.agingwithdignity.org/five-wishes-resources.php

Hope Today

The Hope Today Project is a pilot project serving residents of Franklin and Wakulla counties in Northern Florida. The stated mission of Hope Today is to build networks of support to locate and care for seniors and disabled individuals living alone. The program is intended to serve as a model for replication in other communities.http://www.agingwithdignity.org/hope-today.php