DRAFT Principles for a Person-Centered Approach to Serious or Advanced Illness

By Edwin Walker, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Aging,

and

Bob Williams, Acting Commissioner, Administration on Disabilities Director, Independent Living Administration

At ACL, we believe that every person should be able to make choices and to control their own decisions, regardless of their age, disability, or illness. ACL, in consultation with stakeholders from the aging and disability communities, has drafted a set of principles to guide our work in this area, and to enhance existing programs and services related to serious or advanced illness for older adults and people with disabilities.

Now we need your feedback. We know there are a wide variety of deeply held perspectives on these issues, and we are committed to better understanding them. We are seeking input from the people we serve—older adults, people with dementia, people with all types of disabilities, and the families and caregivers who often support them. We also hope to hear from our partners in the aging and disability networks. Please send your comments, by May 12, 2017, to AdvancedIllness@acl.hhs.gov. We will carefully consider all input as we finalize the principles, which we will share via ACL.gov when complete.

We look forward to hearing from you. The Draft Principles for a Person-Centered Approach to Serious or Advanced Illness are available at http://ltcombudsman.org/uploads/files/support/acl-person-centered-principles.pdf.