END OF LIFE PLANNING
ADVANCE CARE PLANNING
Advance Care Planning means deciding what types of treatment you would or would not want in case you are unable to make your own decisions. It allows you to maintain control over your treatment, should you experience a sudden unexpected illness or injury, as well as when you have reached the end of your life. By completing some simple forms, you can make sure that your family and caregivers know your wishes.
If you are not sure where to begin, you may wish to review The Conversation Project or Five Wishes, both which provides free information and resources to help you start the conversation with your physician and your loved ones.
ADVANCE CARE PLANNING
Advance Care Planning means deciding what types of treatment you would or would not want in case you are unable to make your own decisions. It allows you to maintain control over your treatment, should you experience a sudden unexpected illness or injury, as well as when you have reached the end of your life. By completing some simple forms, you can make sure that your family and caregivers know your wishes.
If you are not sure where to begin, you may wish to review The Conversation Project or Five Wishes, both which provides free information and resources to help you start the conversation with your physician and your loved ones.
Advance Directives describe two types of legal documents that let you plan for and communicate the types of treatment that you want, and to refuse treatments that you do not want. These documents are the NY Healthcare Proxy and the NY Living Will.
A healthcare proxy, or medical power of attorney, allows you to appoint a person you trust as your healthcare agent. It goes into effect only after a person’s physician concludes that they are unable to make their own medical decisions. If a person regains the ability to make decisions, the agent cannot continue to act on the person’s behalf.
A living will specifies your wishes concerning medical treatments at the end of life. Before your living will can guide medical decision-making, two physicians must certify that you are unable to make medical decisions for various limiting health conditions including a state of permanent unconsciousness.
DOWNLOADABLE RESOURCES
It is important to have these documents in case of an accident or in cases where a person has been diagnosed with a life-limiting illness. You can download and print the documents from these links:
Hudson Valley Hospice has trained staff who can answer your questions about these documents. Please contact us 845-485-2273.