Thursday, April 08, 2010
April 16 marks National Healthcare Decisions Day, a day to commemorate the importance of planning for the future and making healthcare wishes known to family, friends and healthcare providers. On Friday, April 16 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Presbyterian Hospital will host a free Health Care Power of Attorney & Living Will Fair to assist patients, visitors, community and staff who are interested in completing or receiving information about living wills and advance directives.
With the still-fresh memory of Terri Schiavo’s well-publicized legal and ethical battle, there’s a greater awareness today of the need to make healthcare decisions in advance, but still too many people wait until it’s too late which can put loved ones in difficult and often unforeseen situations.
“Families and loved ones need to communicate what their wishes are if something would happen,” said Robin Fulp, advance care planner for Presbyterian Hospital. “While these conversations can be difficult to have, it’s best to plan ahead before a crisis situation arises.”
Presbyterian staff will provide paperwork, advice and notarization of living wills and advance directives for free to all who are interested. Appointments can also be scheduled to set a future time to discuss healthcare decisions with our advance care planning expert.
