We understand that each person has a personal history with unique needs and wishes. We create individualized care plans for every patient and their loved ones. We are committed to serving our clients at the highest level, and are passionate about finding creative solutions to meet their goals and honor their life and values.
We specialize in supporting patients and their loved ones through all End of Life journeys, including natural death and legal End of Life Options, also known as Death with Dignity.
End of Life Care
Concierge “Hospice” Care
Standard hospice care provides significant value, though as an insurance-based model, it can be inconsistent and is often limited in its ability to fully meet the needs of patients and families. This frequently causes patients and families to experience insecurity and struggle at the most vulnerable time in their lives.
This is where the Empowered Endings Medical Group comes in. As an adjunct to, or a replacement for standard hospice care, our physician-led, customized medical care, combined with grief and spiritual counseling, advocacy and access to vital resources, optimizes the end of life experience for all involved.
We identify and fill the gaps in the healthcare system that so often result in unnecessary struggle and suffering for patients and families. We are often referred to as “the missing link.”
Medical Aid in Dying (MAID)
Empowered Endings Medical Group is the preeminent practice in Southern California providing expert, comprehensive and compassionate support for patients who wish to participate in the Medical Aid in Dying process. The California End of Life Option Act, which made Medical Aid in Dying legal in California in 2016, is often overlooked and misunderstood by healthcare providers and lay people alike, resulting in unnecessary struggle and suffering for terminally ill people.
Our physicians and counselors are extremely competent and comfortable assessing and navigating qualifying patients through the Medical Aid in Dying process. In addition, we provide uniquely expert education and guidance regarding the legal and clinical framework of Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and the emotional and spiritual challenges and impact on patients, families and providers.
Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED)
Empowered Endings Medical Group provides education, care and counseling for patients and families who are considering this misunderstood and underutilized legal End of Life option. Since most healthcare providers are unfamiliar with the nuances of VSED, they are unwilling or unable to speak openly and competently about this option with patients and families. This unfortunate reality limits the understanding and the acceptance of VSED as a compassionate and dignified way for a person’s life to end.
As one of a very small number of medical practices with experience supporting patients and families through VSED, Empowered Endings Medical Group is uniquely positioned to offer this as a potential option to select patients.
End of Life Planning
People of all ages experience anxiety around how their End of Life Journey will unfold. Many people have witnessed friends and family members go through difficult and traumatizing experiences, and would very much like to have a different experience - for themselves and for those they care about.
One of our most valuable services is the End of Life Planning Session, in which a physician and/or a counselor discusses the client’s greatest wishes and deepest fears, educates them on the ways to be protected from unwanted or futile care, identifies the critical actions that need to be taken, the conversations that need to take place with loved ones, and the forms that need to be completed.
Those who have gone through this enlightening and informative process have experienced greater peace of mind and lower stress as they focus on the joys of living, rather than the fears about dying.
End of Life Counseling
End of Life Counseling
Taking a holistic approach, we offer compassionate Counseling and Guidance to patients, families and collaborative providers regarding all End of Life journeys, including standard Hospice care, Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) and Voluntary Stopping Eating and Drinking (VSED).
Everyone deserves a “soft landing.” Our Counselors expertly guide and explore the needs, values, wishes and goals of each patient and their loved ones.
Grief Counseling
When one is anticipating the loss of a loved one, or has recently experienced a loss, feelings of grief can be complex and overwhelming. Just as each End of Life Experience is different, each grief journey is different as well. Our expert and compassionate counselors and grief guides provide peace of mind and ease of understanding for each person we support, with a rich understanding of the nuances of each End of Life and Grief journey.
Family Counseling
There are many challenges that face families who are supporting, or have supported a loved one through an End of Life Journey. These challenges can fracture families, or bond them more closely together. The difference often lies in the depth of support they receive before, at the time of, and after a loved ones’ transition. Our expert and compassionate counselors and end of life guides provide invaluable support and critical tools for each family we engage with, so they are able to stand together in unity, instead of fracturing and becoming estranged.
Spiritual Counseling
In addition to experiencing physical discomfort during the End of Life journey, many patients and families experience spiritual or emotional distress. At Empowered Endings, we recognize the critical importance of addressing and easing these curiosities and concerns by supporting the spiritual aspects of our patients’ and their loved ones’ experience. Our counselors are expertly trained in ecumenical care, ensuring that all beliefs and traditions are welcome and attended to.