'Why is God doing this to me?' Experts explain spirituality's place in health care for seriously ill

Hi everyone. I so love writing this end of year note. I like to slip in something comical about my kid (this week he wore pants - not shorts! - a first since April 2020!!), how thankful I am for the privilege of doing this work with the Coalition gang and all of you (so, so, so thankful).

In case you missed it, MessageLab launched the Serious Illness Messaging Toolkit with evidence-based messaging for serious illness care. What evidence is it based on? It's based, in part, on our Coalition's consumer research. The toolkit has FREE resources for you to download, including specific language that's been tested with consumers to talk about palliative care, hospice, and advance care planning. It also features stories, worksheets, quick start guides, and more!

Another big step for the transition to a MA POLST Program - RFR for electronic registry released! You might have noticed, but in case you missed it, the Executive Office of Health and Human Services, on behalf of the Executive Office of Elder Affairs (EOEA), Department of Public Health, and the Mass HIway has issued a Request for Responses (RFR) to procure a vendor to implement, maintain, and support the Massachusetts ePOLST registry. The Coalition will be holding a virtual event on Friday, March 17th from 11am- 12pm ET to give you a broader sense of what’s happening with the transition from MOLST to POLST and answer any questions.