Healthcare Decisions Day

Healthcare Decisions Day is celebrated in April each year and is a good reminder to complete advance directives if you haven't already, and to review them if you already have them in place.   

But possibly even more important than taking care of the forms, is to make sure you have had good conversations with your healthcare agent and your family about what your wishes would be if you had a sudden event or serious illness.  

Many people feel uncomfortable thinking about and discussing this topic; therefore they put it off until later in life.  But we all know situations where having these decisions communicated and documented earlier rather than later would have saved stress, worry and disagreement.  Also, in order to make these decisions, a person needs to have adequate decision-making capacity, which is another reason to not put it off. 

Advance Care Planning is a process where a facilitator helps adults and their families learn how to plan for future healthcare decisions.  There are certain questions we encourage those involved to think about and discuss.

• Who would you want to make your healthcare decisions for you if you were unable to do it yourself?
• Is your healthcare agent willing to accept that responsibility and follow through with your wishes?
• What cultural or spiritual beliefs do you have that impact your goals, values and preferences for your healthcare?
• What experiences have you had with family or friends who became seriously ill or had a sudden incident (like a care accident)? How have those experiences impacted your goals, values and preferences regarding your healthcare?
• Have you discussed your goals, values and preferences with your healthcare agent?
• What does 'living well' and 'quality of life' mean to you?
• What would your wishes be in the event you suffered a severe permanent brain injury?  How do your cultural and spiritual beliefs as well as your experiences with others in that situation impact your decision? 
• Have you talked to your primary healthcare provider about CPR and Do-Not-Resuscitate options?

Discussing healthcare decisions can be heavy stuff, but in the long run, it can save you and your family from unnecessary arguments, anxiety and guilt.