Barrington Leaders Launch BeAtEase Campaign to Promote Five Wishes

Bob Lee has rode his bicycle for Ride for 3 Reasons all over the country. He has come across hundreds of roadside memorials for people who woke up on a beautiful day and went about their lives.

Then something happened. And their lives ended.

“It can happen to us today,” the Barrington resident said. “We are all terminal.”

Death is not an easy topic to broach, but Lee is one of the driving forces behind an initiative, BeAtEase, to get people talking about it and about advance directives.

BeAtEase is described as a progressive life management pilot program challenging Barrington families to think about, record and communicate their wishes.

During the BeAtEase drive, families in the 60010 zip code will be able to obtain a Five Wishes document,  a legally binding document that specifies one’s wishes if they cannot speak for themselves. It will be available for adults over the age of 18. There are 5,000 copies in print and 10,000 copies available online at the BeAtEase site.

Five Wishes has been in existence for about 10 years and it legally recognized in Illinois and other states. It helps families answer five key questions:

• The person I want to make care decisions for me when I can’t
• The kind of medical treatment I want or don’t want
• How comfortable I want to be
• How I want people to treat me
• What I want my loved ones to know

“End of life decisions should not be made at the end of life,” Syl Boeder, BeAtEase project director.

The campaign can be wrapped up in 11 words, she said. Think about it. Put it in writing. Share it with others.

It can be difficult to start the conversation about end of life decisions but helps families cope when the time comes.

Dr. Bruce Carlson, a Barrington resident who is on the staff of Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, had the conversation one Thanksgiving when his parents brought up the topic. His parents wanted to make their choices known to him and his siblings, he said.

“It was unexpected but a wonderful gift to us when we needed to say goodbye,” Carlson said.

BeAtEase will have help encouraging families to fill out by working with its partners including Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital, Barrington Community Unit School District 220, Barrington Area Community Foundation, Barrington Area Council on Aging, Barrington Area Development Council, Barrington Area Library, Barrington Area Ministerial Association, Healthier Barrington Coalition, JourneyCare and Portraits by Thomas Balsamo.

Lee is a donor and another partner in the campaign. He has already filled out his Five Wishes and shared it with his family.

“I’ve taken time to consider the information, complete my wishes and share them with my family,” Lee said. “Now, I want to encourage my friends and community to complete their Five Wishes. It’s a gift to have our wishes honored and, to our family, a gift to understand our wishes.”