COMING EVENTS Advance Care Planning Workshops Presented by a panel of medical and other healthcare professionals, as well as attorneys and financial planners. Learn the importance of making your future health care choices known to your loved ones now. Evaluation Form Flyer (PDF) | Register Online Compassionate Care Alliance Selected as Lead Agency for POLST (Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment) Outreach and Education • News Release • POLST Info for Health Care Professionals • POLST Info for Consumers • POLST Form (PDF) NEWS Read or download CompassioNotes the Compassionate Care Alliance Newsletter (PDFs) Fall 2009 Spring 2009 Fall 2008 Spring 2008 Fall 2007 Spring 2007 Fall 2006 Spring 2006 Fall 2005 If you are on our postal mailing list and would prefer to receive news and announcements by email only, contact us.

Compassionate Care Alliance (CCA) began as a grass roots coalition group in 2000 dedicated to improving end of life care in Monterey County.

The coalition established a twofold mission:

• To provide access to comprehensive information and resources on end of life care
• To raise public awareness and create opportunities for dialogue about end of life issues, care choices and planning.

Death is the one issue that we must all face at some point in our lives, whether it is our own or the loss of family and friends. Before the inception of Compassionate Care Alliance, Monterey County did not have a centralized source of information to help families deal with the complex issues related to end of life care choices and planning.

Caring Resources Program

Our Caring Resources Program ensures that accurate, relevant and timely information is available to all community residents, regardless of ethnicity, age or socioeconomics, thus easing the burdens of patients, families and caregivers. It also provides opportunities for dialogue through Healing through the Arts projects, community forums and workshops and a public access television series Healthy Aging: Finding the Answers for Tomorrow.

Access to Information

The first step in achieving our mission was to create a website, CaringResources.org. The innovative site places critical information at community members' fingertips with information on:

Also included are downloadable Advance Directives and an informational guide from the American Bar Association to use while completing these important documents.