An advance directive is your life on your terms. Whether you are 18 or 80, documenting your wishes today means your family won’t have to make heart-wrenching decisions later.
To help patients, families and the hospitals that serve them, the American Hospital Association (AHA), with the cooperation of other organizations, has compiled key resources to enhance educational efforts and raise awareness around this important issue.
We encourage everyone to talk with their family, their friends, their doctor. Know the options. Decide what’s right for you. And then put it in writing.
Advance Directives are legal documents that let you decide what kind of care you would like at the end of your life.
These documents can help make your wishes clear if you ever become physically or mentally unable to decide or speak for yourself. BVRMC will accept your directives according to our mission, philosophy, and the law. Care shall not be conditioned on the existence of an advanced directive. You have a right to name a surrogate (stand-in) to make health care choices on your behalf to the extent permitted by law.
A Living Will states your preferences in regards to life sustaining procedures such as CPR, dialysis, respirators, feeding tubes, hydration, etc.
A Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare names a person to make healthcare decisions for you when you are unable to make them yourself. It is important when naming a person that they understand what your wishes are and that they are able to carry them out.
Advanced Directives can be revoked or changed at any time that you wish. You should review your Advanced Directives periodically to ensure they are current with what your wishes are. Recommended times for review include at least every 10 years, when there is a death or divorce in the family, if there is a diagnosis of a serious illness or a decline in your health status.
For more information about Advance Directives please contact a BVRMC Social Worker at 712.732.4030.