United Health Foundation and Aging with Dignity Win National Healthcare Consumer Advocacy Award for 500,000 Wishes Campaign

Business Wire, April 14, 2008

* Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy recognizes nationwide, grassroots effort to help people overcome language and cultural barriers in planning ahead of a health crisis

* "Five Wishes" living will gives families peace of mind that their preferences will be honored; more than 1,000 multi-cultural organizations have participated in distributing translated documents

MINNETONKA, Minn. & TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Society for Healthcare Consumer Advocacy (SHCA) will honor the United Health Foundation and Aging with Dignity today for the 500,000 Wishes Campaign - a grassroots effort to distribute half a million copies of the Five Wishes living will document in 20 foreign languages. The 2008 National Healthcare Consumer Advocacy Award, to be presented today in St. Louis, Missouri, recognizes an outstanding community or national leader or group that has made a significant impact on the quality of care for the health care consumer.

Five Wishes is an advance directive, or living will, which helps people make important decisions that address their medical, personal, emotional and spiritual needs ahead of a health crisis. The United Health Foundation sponsored the translation of Aging with Dignity's Five Wishes advance directive into 20 languages, in light of the increasing number of Americans who need to communicate their end-of-life care preferences in a language other than English. The Foundation also funded the distribution of free copies of the translations for individuals who could not otherwise afford it.

Since its launch in June of 2007, the 500,000 Wishes Campaign has put the translated Five Wishes into the hands of more than 120,000 people who previously did not have access to advance directives in their own languages. To date, more than 1,000 organizations have heeded the call from the United Health Foundation, Aging with Dignity, the U.S. Administration on Aging, and the American Hospital Association to distribute these translated resources and raise awareness for the use of advance directives. Participating distributors include hospitals, hospices, and local, regional and national groups that serve multi-cultural and senior communities.

In addition, to date, Aging with Dignity has already distributed more than 10 million English copies of Five Wishes through more than 15,000 organizations, including UnitedHealth Group. UnitedHealth Group, which provides funding for the Foundation, makes Five Wishes available to members of its senior health plans, as well as to its more than 65,000 employees.

"The 500,000 Wishes Campaign is about helping as many people as possible from diverse ethnic and cultural backgrounds take control of their end-of-life decisions before they experience a midnight emergency at the hospital or are affected by an incapacitating illness," said Reed Tuckson, M.D., member of the board, United Health Foundation. "This award recognizes the importance of bridging cultural and language differences to give all people the peace of mind that their personal preferences, values and beliefs will be honored in a terminal illness situation."

Paul Malley, president, Aging with Dignity said, "We knew the translated versions of Five Wishes would be popular, because planning for care at the end of life is a basic human need that transcends language and culture. As a result of the 500,000 Wishes Campaign, thousands of family conversations are taking place that couldn't have before. We're very pleased with the progress so far and are grateful for the recognition by SHCA. We remain committed to getting this vital tool into as many hands as possible."

"Making end-of-life care decisions is difficult," said U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging Josefina G. Carbonell. "Communication is critical to ensuring that all adults, especially those who are older, as well as their families have the information they need to make important decisions and choices to ensure their dignity and care at the end of life. The 500,000 Wishes Campaign is making a difference for many who face language and cultural barriers in the United States by allowing them to share their most personal wishes with their family and caregivers."

Grace Doughtie, Habitat for Humanity of Brevard County in Florida said, "In our recent Homeowner Education Workshop, we had a lengthy discussion about wills, estate planning and health care surrogates and I gave all of our future homeowners a Five Wishes booklet. To my surprise, everyone asked for additional copies to give to other family members. The Hispanic families were delighted to find the English translation in their booklet - they are all trying so hard to learn our very difficult language and saw this as another opportunity to learn. It also helped me, as the instructor with very limited Spanish skills, to communicate more clearly on the subject."

Sandy Rowe, Rainbow Hospice, Park Ridge, Illinois said, "I used the traditional Chinese version of Five Wishes in a presentation I did...I found the written document to be much more focused on the culture. I've also done the program translated into Urdu, Hindi, Polish and sign language."