Maybe you’ve got lots of laundry to do, or your daughter’s got a school play coming up. Soccer practice or even just long shifts at work can get in the way of important planning.
 Advanced directives are legal documents that make your health-care choices clear if you can’t state them yourself. |
It’s easy to put off tough, major decisions until another day. But City of Hope clinical social workers say setting aside time for some critical health decisions can save heartache for families later.
They’re talking about advance directives. These are legal documents that state your wishes about health decisions if you aren’t able to communicate them yourself.
“No one likes to think about these kinds of decisions when they’re healthy. It’s common to feel uneasy talking about it,” said Nellie Garcia, M.S.W., director of City of Hope’s Division of Clinical Social Work and part of the Sheri & Les Biller Patient and Family Resource Center. “But it’s best to consider these decisions in advance and talk about them with your family when you’re not under the stress of a traumatic situation.”
And it’s not just for the elderly. Anyone can fall off a roof, crash on a bike or have another serious accident.
Here’s how an advance directive works. Depending on where you live, it consists of one or both of these elements:
- A living will
- A durable power of attorney for health care
A living will guides your family and health-care providers about the type of medical care you want if you’re incapacitated. That can include indicating whether you want doctors to use machines to help you breathe or whether you want doctors to resuscitate you if your heart stops, for example.
A durable power of attorney for health care lets you pick the person who will make decisions about your health care, either permanently or temporarily, if you can’t do it yourself. This goes into effect when a doctor decides you aren’t able to make your own medical decisions.
“That person doesn’t need to be a family member,” Garcia said, “but they should be someone calm and level-headed who understands your wishes.”
Don’t want to involve a lawyer? You don’t have to. You can pick up forms and instructions specific to your state through the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, state hospice organizations, public health departments, state bar associations or state aging offices. City of Hope’s Division of Clinical Social Work can provide patients and family members with advanced health-care directive forms for California.
A signature from a witness and a notary public might also be necessary. Clinical social workers suggest that patients and their families keep their completed advance directives in a place that’s easy to remember and access. Give copies to your main durable power of attorney for health care and a second person as a backup. The directive stays in effect unless you cancel it or decide to complete a new one with changes.
More information and instructions on advance directives are available from the American Hospital Association, National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, the American Cancer Society and other health-care agencies. Patients can obtain forms from City of Hope by calling 626-256-4673, ext. 62282.
