Helping make meaningful memories at the end of life

Making meaningful memories at the end of life

The 3 Wishes Project aims to improve the end-of-life experience for patients, families and clinicians by fulfilling three wishes for a dying patient and his or her loved ones. We hope that by offering an opportunity to honor the patient’s life and create a meaningful end-of-life memory, we can help support families during a difficult and stressful time in their lives.

Together, the patient, their loved ones and their care team can:

  • Dignify, honor and celebrate the patient’s life
  • Take time to reflect and personalize the end-of-life process
  • Create positive memories for loved ones and family members
  • Foster patient and family-centered care

Types of wishes

Patients in the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) and their loved ones can speak to their nurse about requesting wishes through the 3 Wishes Project.

Examples of wishes that have assisted patients and families include:

  • Facilitate connections to bring family and friends together
  • Create a more personalized ICU environment with photos, music and lighting
  • Provide spiritual and religious support
  • Provide keepsakes for families
  • Create a “word cloud,” an image made of words that represent and honor a loved one

Getting to know the patient

To provide better care for your loved one, we would like to know more about them as a person. Please consider the following questions when discussing your wishes with us:

  • Who is important to them?
  • What is important to them?
  • How can we help to honor them right now?

Support the 3 Wishes Project

The 3 Wishes Project is funded by a grant from the CSU Institute for Palliative Care and generous donations from families and individuals who support the mission of the project. If you would like to donate, please go to giving.ucla.edu/3WishesProgram.

To learn more, email [email protected].