Leave loved ones with an understanding when the unexpected occurs
Here is a quiz related to a famous remark: What two things in life are certain?
Those who answer “death and taxes,” or “taxes and death” get gold stars.
More important than leaving the IRS happy and certain about one’s tax return, is securing loved ones with a sense of one’s decision about advance medical care.
Tax day on April 15 appropriately is followed by Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16.
Munson Medical Center Advance Care Planning Coordinator Jane Dinnen, R.N., reminds everyone that it is a good time to complete a medical directive such as the “Five Wishes.”
“An advance medical directive lets you pick the person you trust to speak your wishes for medical care if you are ever unable to speak for yourself,” Dinnen said. “We hope everyone takes some time to gather their loved ones and complete a directive, whether they are 18 or 80.”
For healthy adults, Dinnen said the process involves picking the person they trust to be their spokesperson and informing them what care they would want if they suddenly and unexpectedly experienced injury to their brain that left them no longer able to know who they were, where they were, or who was coming to visit them.
Those living with a chronic illness need to make the same decisions and may need to give some thought to the natural progression of that illness. Often, families appreciate a sounding board for sorting through decisions they believe lie ahead.
Advance Care Planning offers conversation starters as ways to guide the family discussion about such issues. Facilitators also are available to help individuals think through what they want to say in their health care directive.
In Michigan, an advance directive gives a person the right to name an “agent” to speak on one’s behalf, and to document the type of treatment one wants or does not want. Dinnen estimates about 40 percent of area residents have a medical directive, while nationally statistics show about 25 percent of the population with a directive.
“It’s very important that anyone with an advance medical directive have their document on file with Munson,” Dinnen said.
For more information about Advance Care Planning and the Five Wishes Document, call (231) 935-7685 or email advancecareplanning@mhc.net.