Hospice of North Idaho announces free advance care planning workshop, April 16

Doors open at 12 p.m. Thursday, April 16 for a free Advance Care Planning Workshop hosted by Hospice of North Idaho at its Community Services Building, 2290 W. Prairie Ave., Coeur d’Alene/Hayden. Education sessions run 1–3 p.m. in recognition of National Health Care Decisions Day; registration is required and is available by calling (208) 772-7994 or through the hospice event ticketing page.

Hospice of North Idaho, the nonprofit provider serving Kootenai, Shoshone, South Bonner and Benewah counties since 1981, designed the workshop for adults of all ages with particular emphasis on caregivers, family decision-makers and people managing chronic illness. The event listing notes two sessions that day and includes community resource booths and a panel-style Q&A with clinical and legal experts.

Attendees will be walked through concrete documents and choices: how to complete advance directives and living wills, how to name a durable power of attorney for health care, legal considerations around those forms, and how Medicare and private insurance intersect with end-of-life planning. Hospice event descriptions and past Advance Care Planning conferences list an agenda that includes an introduction to advance care planning, legal information, a clinician panel, and vendor tables to help participants take next steps.

The workshop directly addresses a common source of family stress in medical crises: uncertainty about a loved one’s wishes and who can make decisions. National polls show roughly one-third of U.S. adults have an advance directive and about 46 percent of adults ages 50 to 80 report legally documented directives, underscoring a gap community education seeks to close. Idaho residents can register completed directives with the Idaho Healthcare Directive Registry, the state-managed system run by the Idaho Department of Health & Welfare for creating, storing and sharing advance directives and POST forms.

Hospice of North Idaho’s programming links to local clinical partners and institutional capacity. Kootenai Health routinely encourages patients to complete advance directives and provides forms and chaplaincy support, and Hospice of North Idaho operates the Schneidmiller House, Idaho’s first freestanding inpatient hospice unit opened in 2011 with 21 private rooms and in-room overnight accommodations. Leadership at the hospice changed in December 2025 when Shawna Cauley, MHA, RN, was named executive director; Megan Ryan is listed as the hospice communications specialist and press contact for outreach and media inquiries.

The April 16 workshop continues an annual series of community education events by Hospice of North Idaho and provides a local, practical pathway for families to convert conversations into legally recognized paperwork. For Kootenai County families, completing an advance directive and registering it with the Idaho Healthcare Directive Registry can mean fewer high-pressure decisions at the bedside and clearer, enforceable instructions for clinicians and first responders.