Get an Advance Directive
Apr 12th, 2008 by Jeannie
On April 16, 2008, join Americans across the country to talk to others about your future healthcare decisions and to complete your advance directive!
In this month’s newsletter I mentioned the website for National Health Care Directive Day: http://www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org/.
I cannot emphasize enough how strongly I believe in the importance of completing an Advance Directive, or at least discussing your wishes with family members. Having worked in a large medical center with patients on life support and close to end-of-life, I witnessed the anguish of family members as they were faced with difficult decisions that they were not prepared to make. I feel so strongly about this, that as an Adjunct Instructor at The Brown School of Social Work at Washington University in Saint Louis, I require my students to complete one as one of their assignments, and write an essay about their experience.
For those who may not be familiar with the process or terminology, I have included an excerpt from the website; it is never too late to begin the discussion…..
What is an advance directive?
All adults can benefit from thinking about what their healthcare choices would be if they are unable to speak for themselves. These decisions can be written down in an advance directive so that others know what they are.
Advance directives come in two main forms:
- A “healthcare power of attorney” (or “proxy” or “agent” or “surrogate”) documents the person you select to be your voice for your healthcare decisions if you cannot speak for yourself.
- A “living will” documents what kinds of medical treatments you would or would not want at the end of life.
- http://www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org/
