U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Talk to the Veterans Crisis Line now
Skip to main content

Last updated

Advance Care Planning via Group Visits Program

Share Print

ACP-GV engages Veterans, caregivers and those they trust in advance care planning by facilitating a group discussion that elicits personal experience(s) and encourages participants to identify a 'next step' to take in the process of planning for future health care needs.

VA sites can implement quickly with resources available on the ACP-GV SharePoint site: https://dvagov.sharepoint.com/sites/VHAadvance-care-planning-via-group-appointments

Community partners can learn more on the VA Social Work website: https://www.socialwork.va.gov/ACP_GV.asp

This innovation is scaling widely with the support of national stakeholders. See more scaling innovations.

Adoptions:

71 successful

Awards and Recognition:

QUERI Partnered Evaluation Initiative, VHA Shark Tank Winner, Office of Rural Health Enterprise Wide Initiative, Diffusion of Excellence Promising Practice, Rural Promising Practic ... QUERI Partnered Evaluation Initiative, VHA Shark Tank Winner, Office of Rural Health Enterprise Wide Initiative, Diffusion of Excellence Promising Practice, Rural Promising Practice

Partners:

Blind Rehabilitation, Caregiver Support Program, Care Management and Social Work Services, Diffusion of Excellence, Geriatrics and Extended Care, Health Services Research & Development, Office of Primary Care, Office of Rural Health, Patient Centered Care and Cultural Transformation, Quality Enhancement Research Initiative

Tags:

Age-Friendly Chaplain Care COVID-19 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ethics in Health Care Geriatric Health High Reliability Mental Health Outpatient Care Primary Care
Contact Team

Overview

Problem

Veterans and caregivers have a right to make their future health care wishes known to others, including their health care team. However, discussing advance care planning (ACP) can take more time than busy health care providers are able to spend during an appointment.

Solution

ACP-GV engages Veterans, their families and caregivers in advance care planning by facilitating a group discussion that elicits personal experience(s) and encourages participants to identify a 'next step' to take in the process of planning for future health care needs. Clinical staff, who have been trained in ACP-GV facilitation meet with 8-10 Veterans durin ... See more

Results

ACP-GV is a Best Practice Model in VA Settings

Supporting publications included below.

Metrics

  • 90% of ACP-GV participants report an increase in knowledge after group.
  • ACP-GV participants are roughly twice as likely to complete an advance directive form, when compared to those who participate in traditional, one-on-one ACP conversations,

Diffusion tracker

Does not include Clinical Resource Hubs (CRH)

Statuses

AL: Birmingham VA Medical Center (Birmingham, Alabama) AL: Central Alabama VA Medical Center-Tuskegee (Tuskegee) AR: Fayetteville VA Medical Center (Fayetteville, Arkansas) AZ: Bob Stump Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Prescott) AZ: Carl T. Hayden Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Phoenix, Arizona) AZ: Tucson VA Medical Center (Tucson) CA: Fresno VA Medical Center (Fresno) CA: Jennifer Moreno Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (San Diego, California) CA: Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Loma Linda, California) CA: Los Angeles VA Clinic (Los Angeles) CA: Palo Alto VA Medical Center (Palo Alto, California) CO: Grand Junction VA Medical Center (Grand Junction, Colorado) CO: Rocky Mountain Regional VA Medical Center (Aurora Rocky Mountain) CT: West Haven VA Medical Center (West Haven) FL: Malcom Randall Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Gainesville) FL: West Palm Beach VA Medical Center (West Palm Beach) GA: Augusta VA Medical Center-Uptown (Augusta Uptown) GA: Joseph Maxwell Cleland Atlanta VA Medical Center (Atlanta, Georgia) IA: Des Moines VA Medical Center (Des Moines, Iowa) IL: Danville VA Medical Center (Danville, Illinois) IL: Edward Hines Junior Hospital (Hines) IL: Marion VA Medical Center (Marion, Illinois) IN: Marion VA Medical Center (Marion, Indiana) IN: Richard L. Roudebush Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Indianapolis, Indiana) KS: Dwight D. Eisenhower Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Leavenworth) LA: Overton Brooks Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Shreveport) MA: Edith Nourse Rogers Memorial Veterans' Hospital (Bedford) MD: Baltimore VA Medical Center (Baltimore) ME: Togus VA Medical Center (Togus) MI: Aleda E. Lutz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Saginaw, Michigan) MI: Battle Creek VA Medical Center (Battle Creek) MN: Minneapolis VA Medical Center (Minneapolis, Minnesota) MO: Kansas City VA Medical Center (Kansas City, Missouri) MS: Biloxi VA Medical Center (Biloxi) MS: G.V. (Sonny) Montgomery Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Jackson, Mississippi) NC: Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Asheville) ND: Fargo VA Medical Center (Fargo) NE: Omaha VA Medical Center (Omaha, Nebraska) NJ: East Orange VA Medical Center (East Orange) NV: Ioannis A. Lougaris Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Reno) NV: North Las Vegas VA Medical Center (North Las Vegas) NY: Brooklyn VA Medical Center (Brooklyn) OH: Chalmers P. Wylie Veterans Outpatient Clinic (Columbus, Ohio) OH: Chillicothe VA Medical Center (Chillicothe) OH: Dayton VA Medical Center (Dayton) OK: Oklahoma City VA Medical Center (Oklahoma City) OR: Portland VA Medical Center (Portland, Oregon) OR: Roseburg VA Medical Center (Roseburg) OR: White City VA Medical Center (White City) PA: Butler VA Medical Center (Butler New Castle Road) PA: Corporal Michael J. Crescenz Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania) RI: Providence VA Medical Center (Providence) SC: Ralph H. Johnson Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Charleston, South Carolina) SD: Royal C. Johnson Veterans' Memorial Hospital (Sioux Falls) TN: Alvin C. York Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Murfreesboro) TN: James H. Quillen Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Mountain Home, Tennessee) TN: Lt. Col. Luke Weathers, Jr. VA Medical Center (Memphis) TX: Audie L. Murphy Memorial Veterans' Hospital (San Antonio, Texas) TX: Dallas VA Medical Center (Dallas) TX: George H. O'Brien, Jr., Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Big Spring) TX: Michael E. DeBakey Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Houston) TX: Thomas E. Creek Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Amarillo) VA: Richmond VA Medical Center (Richmond, Virginia) VA: Salem VA Medical Center (Salem, Virginia) VT: White River Junction VA Medical Center (White River Junction) WA: Mann-Grandstaff Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center (Spokane, Washington) WA: Seattle VA Medical Center (Seattle) WI: Clement J. Zablocki Veterans' Administration Medical Center (Milwaukee, Wisconsin) WI: Tomah VA Medical Center (Tomah) WV: Beckley VA Medical Center (Beckley) WY: Cheyenne VA Medical Center (Cheyenne)

There are no in-progress adoptions for this innovation.

There are no unsuccessful adoptions for this innovation.

Multimedia

Videos

What's Your Plan? National Advance Care Planning via Group Visits (ACP-GV) Program

Implementation

Timeline

  • Exploring
    Determine if you want to adopt ACP-GV in your system of care
  • Adopting
    Take action to implement ACP-GV at your site
  • Implementing
    Veterans and caregivers are attending group; access to ACP-GV is spreading within your health system
  • Sustaining
    ACP-GV is well established and integrated within the culture of your health care system

Departments

  • Social work
  • Telehealth
  • Primary care
  • Whole health

Core Resources

Resource type Resource description
PEOPLE
  • ACP-GV Facilitators

Files

  • ACP-GV facilitators must use the ACP-GV participant worksheet during the group session and record responses to the worksheet within the participant’s medical record. Responses are used to assist participants in setting a SMART goal and should be referenced during the follow-up contact with the participant. Responses can also be used to measure efficacy and for quality improvement. ACP-GV Participant Worksheet
  • ACP-GV facilitators use the ACP-GV Fidelity Instrument as a guide during the group session to assist the group facilitator with covering core components. In addition, the ACP-GV Fidelity Instrument can be used by an observer for training purposes or to offer feedback to ACP-GV facilitators. ACP-GV Fidelity Instrument

Links

Contact

Comment

Comments and replies are disabled for retired innovations and non-VA users.

VA User (Social Worker) Innovation adopter posted

I'm still in the process of adopting. It's a bit slow but hope to be up and running by Feb. 2022!

VA User (Social Worker) Innovation owner posted

We have had ACP-GV at NF/SG since 2017!!!

3
VA User (Outreach Social Worker) Innovation adopter posted

Working to implement this in Feb 2021

5
VA User (Social Worker) Innovation owner posted

We are practicing ACP-GV here at ECHCS!

5
VA User (National Program Coordinator) Innovation owner deleted

This comment has been deleted.

VA User (National Program Coordinator) Innovation owner deleted

This comment has been deleted.

Email

Email with questions about this innovation.

About

Origin story

Advance Care Planning via Group Visits (ACP-GV) began in 2012 as Clinical Demonstration Project led by Dr. Kimberly Garner with Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System (CAVHS) colleagues and in collaboration with the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 16 South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) and Geriatric ... Advance Care Planning via Group Visits (ACP-GV) began in 2012 as Clinical Demonstration Project led by Dr. Kimberly Garner with Central Arkansas Veterans Health Care System (CAVHS) colleagues and in collaboration with the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) 16 South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC) and Geriatric Research, Education, and Clinical Center (GRECC).

Original team

Kimberly Garner, MD, JD

National ACP-GV Program Lead and VISN 16, Rehabilitation and Extended Care Lead

Search tags

Age-Friendly Chaplain Care COVID-19 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Ethics in Health Care Geriatric Health High Reliability Mental Health Outpatient Care Primary Care