BUTLER — Whether it’s for yourself or a loved one, end of life care can be one of the most difficult things to prepare for.

Between researching all of the options, thinking through the complicated issues and considering the feelings of friends and family, the planning process alone can be daunting.

Frank Cottone, Medicare Advantage representative, is offering a presentation to help ease this process.

He will present Aging With Dignity’s Five Wishes living will document.

The event will be at noon Thursday at the Butler YMCA’s Phillips Hall, Room B. Attendees are asked to make reservations at the front desk and to take a friend. The presentation is free.

Before retiring, Cottone spent 30 years in sales and the last 11 of those at Aetna, helping to provide health care for those in the region.

For the last year, Cottone has been traveling the region helping to get these conversations started and walking people through outlining their desires and directives for loved ones as well as for health care professionals.

Cottone gives three to four presentations a week around the Butler County area on several topics related to aging and senior health care.

The Five Wishes presentation includes an 11 page booklet and a video explaining the document. Cottone will be there to lead the discussion and answer questions.

“Five Wishes is a great presentation,” Cottone said.

He explained that Five Wishes is separate from the traditional living will. It takes into consideration the personal, emotional and spiritual needs as well as the medical ones, he said.

“It’s more personal,” he said.

The document goes through five main questions that should be answered to be adequately treated and cared for at the end of life. These include:

Who can make decisions if you are unable.

Kinds of treatments you want.

How comfortable you would like to be.

How you would like to be treated.

What you want friends and family to know.

The answers are completely customizable, but for those who are unsure, Five Wishes also includes recommendations.

One of the benefits of going through the Five Wishes program is that it is a legally binding document and goes into effect once it is signed.

“You don’t need any lawyers,” Cottone said.

This removes one of the big hurdles to solidifying end of life plans, giving friends and family members certainty about advanced care directives, Cottone said.

Stories of families that struggled over what to do and how to do it are common at every presentation, he said.

“One woman said: ‘I don’t want my children to have to make the choices I have to make now for my mother,’” Cottone said.

“A woman came up to me and said how she and her brother battled.”

Five wishes can help spare relatives from having to make these decisions without any guidance, he said.

Cottone has recommended this program to people in his life as well.

“When I started doing this last year I thought of my mother,” he said.

While she was apprehensive at first, he kept talking to her about it, “and she warmed to it,” he said.

The presentation is open to anyone who is interested, but it will be most applicable to those currently considering this for their own lives.

“Basically, it’s for seniors,” Cottone said.

Presentations like Cottone’s can often help people work through their thoughts regarding end of life care and can help start discussions on it.

“Talking to family about this is good,” he said.

And while it is a difficult subject, Cottone hopes his presentation makes it easier to address.

He presents different topics and services depending on the time of the year.

For more information or for future events on this topic and others, visit bcfymca.org.