Who will speak for you?
Everyone 18+ needs an Advance Directive for Health Care
4/16/2024
Who will make and
communicate your medical decisions if you are unable to speak for yourself?
Many people don’t
realize that Wisconsin and Michigan are not next-of-kin states. This means that
spouses, adult children, parents of adult children, or other family members are
not automatically authorized to make medical decisions for you. That’s why all
adults need to complete an Advance Directive – a document that specifies who
you choose to be your Power of Attorney for Healthcare.
“An Advance
Directive allows you to choose who you want to make medical decisions for you
if you’re not able to make them for yourself,” said Julie Barge, Advance Care
Planning Coordinator with Aspirus Health. “It also enables you to specify your
wishes regarding care facility placement, and the type of treatment you want or
don’t want.”
April 16 is National
Healthcare Decisions Day – the perfect time to complete an Advance Directive or
to review your completed document and have conversations about your wishes.
Having an Advance
Directive is a win-win – even if you live in a next-of-kin state, like
Minnesota. Should the time ever come that you cannot make or communicate your
own medical decisions, you will have identified who you want to make those
decisions for you, and that person will know your wishes. They can be your
voice. Research has shown that this reduces stress, guilt, and questioning
whether the right decisions were made. It can also prevent delays and costly
legal expenses.
“If you don’t have
an Advance Directive that names your Power of Attorney for Healthcare, the case
may go to court, which can delay treatment decisions and cost thousands of
dollars,” said Barge. “In addition, if your loved ones don’t agree on your care
plan, it can cause a lot of stress.”
When choosing a
healthcare agent or advocate, you need to consider who will honor your wishes,
even if they don’t agree with them. Who can handle stress and will be a good
advocate for you? As life changes, a new document should be completed to
reflect your current choices, values, and wishes.
Completing an
advance directive may be easy for some and difficult for others. Aspirus offers
free assistance with trained facilitators either in person, via phone, or
virtually.
“We go through the
form and answer your questions,” said Barge. “We can help you think about
scenarios you may not have thought about and discuss what your wishes would be.
The document is then scanned into your medical record, you keep the original,
and we can make copies for you at no charge.”
Advance care
planning kits are available in our clinics and hospitals and at aspirus.org/advance-directives.
You may also request a kit be mailed to you by calling our Aspirus Customer
Contact Center at 800-847-4707.
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