{"id":8470,"date":"2026-09-26T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2026-09-26T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470"},"modified":"2026-09-26T20:30:00","modified_gmt":"2026-09-26T20:30:00","slug":"planning-ahead-helps-veterans-take-control-of-future-care","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470","title":{"rendered":"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"tni-source-date\"><strong>Originally published:<\/strong> 2026-09-26T20:30:00+00:00. Historical source article: benefits, rules, amounts and deadlines may have changed. Check the official source for current information.<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Bay Pines VA offers advance care planning workshops<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/?s=Bay+Pines+VA+Healthcare+System\">Bay Pines VA Healthcare System<\/a> is helping enrolled Veterans take control of future healthcare decisions through Advance Care Planning workshops designed to ensure their wishes are known and respected if they are ever unable to speak for themselves.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The workshops, offered at the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.va.gov\/bay-pines-health-care\/locations\/cw-bill-young-department-of-veterans-affairs-medical-center\/\" rel=\"noopener\">C.W. Bill Young VA Medical Center Campus<\/a> the first and third Wednesday of each month and Lee County Healthcare Center the first Tuesday of each month, provide Veterans and their loved ones with education, resources and support to complete advance directives and discuss healthcare preferences before a medical crisis occurs.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cAdvance care planning is the ability to take control over your healthcare decision-making and align those decisions with your values,\u201d said Denyse Wilkins, Bay Pines VA social work supervisor for specialty care clinics. \u201cWhen you align your values with your healthcare decision-making, your family, healthcare providers and VA know what to do if you are ever in a medical crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Wilkins said one of the biggest challenges is helping Veterans understand why advance care planning matters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt\u2019s not just a legal document,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s about making sure your loved ones understand your wishes and don\u2019t have to make difficult decisions during a crisis without guidance.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Bay Pines VA introduced the Advance Care Planning workshop program in November 2025 as part of a national initiative aimed at helping Veterans make informed healthcare decisions. The one-time workshop allows Veterans and their loved ones to learn about advance directives, discuss personal values and share experiences in a supportive environment.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cVA puts the Veteran first, and this program certainly aligns with our mission regarding Veteran-centered care,\u201d said Pamela Zavala, Bay Pines VA Patient Aligned Care Team social work supervisor. \u201cIt gives Veterans a voice and encourages them to advocate for their wishes.\u201d<\/p>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why it\u2019s important<\/h2>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Army Veteran Marvin Dalzell, the workshop provided an opportunity to revisit advance directives he and his wife completed years ago. \u201cWe had prepared our own advance care directives before, but they were out of date,\u201d Dalzell said. \u201cThe workshop gave us updated information and helped us bring everything current.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Dalzell said personal experiences with the deaths of his parents motivated him to update his plans.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cGoing through my father\u2019s passing and my mother\u2019s passing left me with a lot of questions because things were not discussed beforehand,\u201d he said. \u201cI decided I needed to set a plan for what I wanted for myself.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">His wife, Cathy, recalled facing difficult decisions without clear guidance during her own mother\u2019s final days.<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cYou\u2019re caught up in the emotions of what is happening, and then you have to make this horrible decision,\u201d she said. \u201cYou didn\u2019t know what she wanted. I don\u2019t want that to happen to my family.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After working with VA social workers and discussing his wishes with family members, Dalzell updated documents and identified trusted people to make healthcare decisions on his behalf if needed. \u201cNow I\u2019ve looked at what I would like done for my healthcare and who I trust to take care of my needs,\u201d he said. \u201cIt gives me peace of mind knowing that what I would like done will be done and the people I trust will be overseeing it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For Veterans who may be hesitant to start the conversation, Dalzell offers simple advice. \u201cThe social workers at VA are very kind, very compassionate and informative,\u201d he said. \u201cThey don\u2019t push. They guide you. This program gives you peace of mind in an area that is extremely uncomfortable to think about.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">By helping Veterans document their wishes before a crisis occurs, Bay Pines VA is ensuring Veterans remain at the center of their healthcare decisions. <\/p>\n<hr>\n<p class=\"tni-attribution\">Source: <a href=\"https:\/\/news.va.gov\/149767\/planning-ahead-helps-take-control-future-care\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener noreferrer\">U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs<\/a>. Its Veterans is an independent publication and is not affiliated with or endorsed by the U.S. government.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Advance care planning workshops at Bay Pines VA help Veterans document healthcare wishes and prepare for future medical decisions with support and guidance.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":339,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-8470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-u-s-veterans-news"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.5 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care - Its Veterans<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Advance care planning workshops at Bay Pines VA help Veterans document healthcare wishes and prepare for future medical decisions with support and guidance.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care - Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Advance care planning workshops at Bay Pines VA help Veterans document healthcare wishes and prepare for future medical decisions with support and guidance.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Its Veterans\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-09-26T20:30:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\"},\"headline\":\"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-26T20:30:00+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470\"},\"wordCount\":681,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-322.png\",\"articleSection\":[\"News &amp; VA Updates\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470\",\"name\":\"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care - Its Veterans\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-322.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-26T20:30:00+00:00\",\"description\":\"Advance care planning workshops at Bay Pines VA help Veterans document healthcare wishes and prepare for future medical decisions with support and guidance.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-322.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/vet-456-322.png\",\"width\":878,\"height\":655},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?p=8470#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"description\":\"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Its Veterans\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/09\\\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg\",\"width\":2172,\"height\":724,\"caption\":\"Its Veterans\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/itsveterans.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care - Its Veterans","description":"Advance care planning workshops at Bay Pines VA help Veterans document healthcare wishes and prepare for future medical decisions with support and guidance.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care - Its Veterans","og_description":"Advance care planning workshops at Bay Pines VA help Veterans document healthcare wishes and prepare for future medical decisions with support and guidance.","og_url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470","og_site_name":"Its Veterans","article_published_time":"2026-09-26T20:30:00+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668"},"headline":"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care","datePublished":"2026-09-26T20:30:00+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470"},"wordCount":681,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-322.png","articleSection":["News &amp; VA Updates"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470","name":"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care - Its Veterans","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-322.png","datePublished":"2026-09-26T20:30:00+00:00","description":"Advance care planning workshops at Bay Pines VA help Veterans document healthcare wishes and prepare for future medical decisions with support and guidance.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-322.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/vet-456-322.png","width":878,"height":655},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?p=8470#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Planning ahead helps Veterans take control of future care"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","name":"Its Veterans","description":"Veterans news, benefits, health and community resources","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#organization","name":"Its Veterans","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/09\/its-veterans-six-service-branches-flag-header-v2-2026-09-18.jpg","width":2172,"height":724,"caption":"Its Veterans"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/#\/schema\/person\/4bf835f8c5375ef33978f3169f311668","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/10da73410d092638799e3fa777bd59a474d7c9d9c61105a38c73dd46c050c34f?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/itsveterans.com"],"url":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=8470"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/8470\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/339"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=8470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=8470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/itsveterans.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=8470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}