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Advance Directives
Health care professionals want to respect your wishes for medical care. The key to doing so is for your wishes to be known. Having a document to outline your choices helps your doctor and your family take care of you during a health care crisis or terminal illness.
An Advance Directive is a document in which an individual communicates his/her wishes about specific health care, treatments, and procedures, should he/she become unable to communicate those wishes or participate in informed decision making. This document usually has two important parts:
Living Will: A section of an Advance Directive in which an individual directs specific treatment or procedures to be provided, withheld or withdrawn if the individual is terminally ill and not able to communicate his/her wishes about life-prolonging procedures.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care: A trusted person identified by the individual to make health care decisions for him/her should he/she be incapable of making such decisions. Also known as a Health Care Proxy or Medical Power of Attorney. The individual identified should know and respect your wishes regarding health care treatments/procedures in order to be your true voice in decision making.
Hospice of the Piedmont offers information, education, and resource materials for decision making and advance care planning.
Consider making a call for further information for yourself or a family member, or consider scheduling a presentation about this very important topic for your community or church group.
For more information or to schedule a presentation, please call (800) 975-5501 or (434) 817-6900.
Advance Directives
For more information, click here to
visit the Aging with Dignity website
and to learn about Five Wishes,
the popular document that helps
you get the care you want - when
you need it.
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