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Upcoming events
Healing through Hope
Every Tuesday,May 27 - July 1
6 -7:30 PM
Rose Park Senior Activity Center, Classroom C
2625 S. 7th Street, Abilene
What is Advance Healthcare Planning?
Advance healthcare planning is a process of learning about end-of-life options and communicating your healthcare preferences with your loved ones and physician. It also involves completing forms called advance directives to document these preferences.
Standard advance directive forms, while very important, do little to influence end-of-life decisions without informed, thoughtful reflection about your wishes and values and personal communication between you and your likely decision-makers before a crisis occurs.
Does your loved one know what your wishes are in the event of a major illness or injury? How can you assure that your wishes will be upheld? When illness or injury catches us off guard, being prepared can help make things easier on our loved ones. A good place to begin healthcare planning is with the review and completion of advance directives.
What is an Advance Directive?
An Advance Directive is a document that lets you state in advance what kind of treatment you want or do not want under special, serious medical conditions -- conditions that would prevent you from telling your doctor and family how you would want to be treated.
The most common Advance Directives are a Directive to Physician more commonly known as a "living will", Medical Power of Attorney also known as a Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare, and Out-of-Hospital Do Not Resuscitate.
What is a Directive to Physician also known as a "living will"?
This document allows you to tell your physician not to use artificial methods such as ventilators or respirators to prolong the process of dying when you have been diagnosed as having a terminal condition or an irreversible condition.
This document requires your signature in the presence of two qualified witnesses.
What is a Medical Power of Attorney or Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare?
This document allows you to elect someone as your "agent" or "proxy" to make your healthcare decisions only in the event you are unable to communicate you own wishes.
You want to be sure you elect someone who is familiar with your healthcare wishes and would be able to carry out these wishes.
This document requires your signature in the presence of two qualified witnesses.
What is an Out-of-Hospital Do Not Resuscitate?
A document specific to the State of Texas that allows you to refuse certain life-sustaining procedures outside of a hospital setting (these settings include hospital outpatient, emergency departments, ambulances, long-term care facilities, physician offices). Even though you may have a Directive to Physician or Medical Power of Attorney without an Out-of-Hospital Do Not Resuscitate emergency personnel are bound by law to do everything possible to keep someone alive including, life-support.
Important to Know . . .
- The most important thing you can do is to communicate your preferences with your family, physician and other involved parties.
- If you do not have an Advance Directive, the power to make healthcare decisions goes to your next-of kin as determined by Texas Statute.
- Advance Directives do not have to be notarized or completed by an attorney to be valid.
- Different states have different Advance Directives but they should honor yours if you are traveling. If you plan to stay for an extended period of time you should think about completing new documents.
- You can cancel or revoke an Advance Directive at anytime. The best method is to destroy the previous Advance Directive and complete a new one with your current wishes.
- Review your Advance Directives periodically to ensure they are current with you wishes.
- Make sure you know where your Advance Directives are and they are easily accessible.
- Provide your hospital and physician with a copy of your Advance Directives and request they become part of you permanent record.
Places to find Advance Directives:
Hendrick Health Systems provides a booklet called "Personal Choices" that is available to the public. The booklet includes information on Advance Directives and the actual documents in both English and Spanish.
Advance Directives Online
http://www.ama-assn.org/public/booklets/livgwill.htm
http://www.partnershipforcaring.org/Advance/
Out-of-Hospital Do Not Resuscitate Online
http://www.tdh.state.tx.us/hcqs/ems/dnrhome.htm
US Living Will Registry
http://www.uslivingwillregistry.org
The US Living Will Registry is a nationwide service that stores your advance directives electronically and makes it available 24 hours a day to healthcare providers across the country. Hendrick Hospice Care provides free access to the Registry as a service to you. If you are interested in registering your documents on line with the US Living Will Registry, please contact Hendrick Hospice Care at (325)677-8516. Be sure to include copies of your documents for registration.