Advance Health Care Planning
Make Decisions About Your Medical Care While You Are Healthy
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has shown all of us that it’s more important than ever to plan for a potential health crisis. Allowing time to reflect on your healthcare preferences and discussing them with your loved ones can empower them make important decisions about your medical care if you are unable to do so. To help ensure your wishes are followed, we recommend writing them down in a legal document called an Advance Directive.
Advance Directives were developed in the late 1960s to encourage people to have thoughtful conversations about healthcare treatments that may extend life. They have taken on renewed importance amid the COVID-19 crisis, as thousands of otherwise healthy people have been hospitalized and died from the virus.
Two Important Types of Advance Directives
Living Will - A legal document that spells out that you would like a natural death when the end of life is near and what type of medical care you would like (or would NOT like) at that time.
Health Care Power of Attorney - Allows you to designate someone you trust to serve as your spokesperson for healthcare decision making when you are unable to speak for yourself.
Only About a Third of Americans Have Advance Directives
While research shows that many people want to make their healthcare wishes and preferences known, only about a third of Americans have participated in Advance Healthcare Planning. However, the process is not nearly as daunting as it may seem. You don’t have to consult with an attorney to complete an Advance Directive. In fact, many people find the documents to be straightforward and are able to easily complete them on their own with a notary and two witnesses present at the time of signature.
Free Resources Are available
For more information about Advance Health Care Planning, call 828.466.0466 or request a free Care Directives Toolkit designed to help answer your questions about the Advance Directives Planning process.
About Carolina Caring
A regional leader in serious illness care, Carolina Caring has been providing compassionate, personalized health care to western North Carolina for nearly a decade. For more information about Carolina Caring, visit CarolinaCaring.org or sign up to receive email updates and our newsletter.