About Taylor McCandless, MSW (she/her)

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I am a self-described and recognized champion of advance care planning. My father and I had quite a journey guiding his care — advocating for maximum dignity with minimum fuss. Our informal conversations over the years informed my actions, and the legally valid directive he completed gave me the authority to see his wishes honored.

When you engage meaningfully to establish your wishes in advance, your loved ones are better prepared to accept — and advocate for — your care preferences under stress, in discussions with health providers about treatment options.

My motivation for consulting is to support people in documenting their wishes, and in empowering their loved ones to advocate for those wishes to be honored. This creates the best possible scenario for your medical outcomes in the event of an incapacitating medical crisis. All of this can be accomplished by completing a document broadly known as an "Advance Health Care Directive."

• LinkedIn Profile 
• Co-Facilitator, "Challenges Only Solo-Agers Face: Recruiting Your Healthcare and Estate Plan Agent" — Deep Dive with Dr. Mary (2026)
• Advance Care Planning: A Conversation with Mary Flett and Taylor McCandless (2023)
• Co-Chair, My Care, My Plan: Speak Up Sonoma County, Oct 2016–Feb 2020; Core Faculty 2014–2019
• Article: Close to Home: When Parents and Kids Become 'Legal Strangers' (2019)
• Advance Healthcare Workshops (AHCD & POLST), Sonoma Valley Hospital Foundation (2019)
• Master of Social Work (MSW), Community Organizing, Planning and Administration — CSU, Sacramento
• Bachelor of Science in Social Work (BSW) — CSU, Chico

I have decades of experience as a Medical Social Worker, providing direct services and advocacy in Home Health and Outpatient Palliative Care settings. I've learned that whatever one's condition, the best patient-centered outcomes occur when loved ones and doctors are guided by your personalized documentation.

Medical Social Work addresses person-centered care and the practical matters of aging and chronic illness — work that frequently involves others participating in your care and decision-making.

I've fostered linkages with community-based organizations and needs-based services. My early working years included work for agencies providing foster care, reproductive health services, crisis line coordination, and volunteer advocacy services for survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, as well as child assault prevention education.

My expertise can guide you to create a high-quality health directive — one that reflects your values, names someone you trust to speak for you, and is legally valid and accessible when it's needed most.