Today, April 16, is National Healthcare Decision Day, an initiative to encourage patients to express their wishes regarding health care and for health care providers and facilities to respect those wishes, whatever they may be.
If you’re like most Americans, you have probably heard about living wills or advance directives and have even considered your preferences at the end of life, but what would motivate you to act —cause you to fill out the forms and designate a decision maker or agent? How do you start the conversation with loved ones?
We all hope to communicate and make our own decisions until the end but we know it doesn’t always happen that way. Without a plan your health care team won’t know your wishes and your family may not know what to do.
The NHDD website is a good resource for ideas on how to help start important conversations about your health care wishes.
The video below is a helpful tool to assist in asking difficult questions on this subject and starting important conversations about advance directives.
