Make your wishes known for end-of-life care.
Recent news events have reminded us how precious and fragile life is. They have also made us aware of the need to make our wishes clear concerning care at the end of life.
Death is a difficult subject to think about, unsettling to speak about, and even more disquieting to plan for. By making end-of-life care decisions, and having conversations with loved ones now, you will safeguard those you love from unnecessary pain and added grief.
The most effective way to make these plans is to prepare a written health care directive. Advance directives help us plan for how we would like to be treated should we be unable to make decisions for ourselves. Advance directives give us a voice in treatment decisions when we become unable to communicate with our health care team, such as in the case of a coma or other conditions affecting mental capacity.
Preparing advance directives can be a starting point for you and your loved ones to begin discussing this emotional topic.
To help you create advance directives, please click on the link below. This will take you to the Center for Practical Bioethics Web site. From there you can download a printable advance directive form, as well as other helpful publications. You can also learn more
about end of life issues at
http://www.practicalbioethics.org/
Please understand that various state laws determine competency (the mechanism for executing a Living Will or Durable Power of Attorney) so please refer to your state law for that information.
Founded in 1984, the Center for Practical Bioethics is an independent organization nationally recognized for its work in practical bioethics. More than a think tank, the Center puts theory into action to help people and organizations find real-world solutions to complex issues in health and healthcare.