Advance Directives & Living Wills
Terri Schiavo
Everyone is familiar with the tragic story of Terri Schiavo. What many people do not realize is that Terri was only 26 when she suffered a cardiac arrest and subsequent brain damage. The media carried the story near the time of her death, but she had been on life support for 15 years and the court battle about her feeding tube had raged for 7 years – she did not have advance directives. (Click here for entire story)
Advance Directives
People feel strongly about their choices in end of life and near death situations but too frequently those choices are not documented. When people become critically injured or ill they are often unable to make their choices known. Health care providers are left to "guess" at what patients want and in some cases the decisions end up being battles between family members in court.
Advanced Directives are: INSTRUCTIONS (Directives) you want to give NOW (in advance) because later, if you become seriously ill, injured or incapacitated, you might not be able to tell physicians what medical treatments you want or do not want.
In the United States, each state has enacted laws giving individuals the legal means to:
- Designate a Health Care Agent: A person you select to make medical decisions for you if you cannot because of a medical condition or injury.
- Make a Living Will: A document listing your choices for medical care near death
- Have Do Not Resuscitate Orders (DNR): A means to direct medical personnel to NOT attempt to resuscitate you if your heart stops
These three actions are collectively called Advance Directives.
Unfortunately the legal terminology is often complicated and confusing and there is not one official “advance directive document” for all states. Additionally, each state has enacted slightly different statutes governing advance directives further complicating the process.
Essential Choices – Simplified Advance Directives
With the help of emergency physicians and attorneys, Essential Medical developed a simple 4-step program called Essential Choices and included it on the Medical Passport. Because Essential Medical believes it is vitally important that everyone have their own advance directives we also provide free paper copies of Essential Choices.(download here)
The 4-steps of Essential Choices helps you create your advance directives and living will. It was designed to comply with the legal requirements of most states.* Although the paper copy of Essential Choices allows you to write your advance directives the Medical Passport contains explanations and photos to help you understand the medical and legal terms. The Medical Passport also allows you to carry an electronic copy of your advance directives AND your medical information on your keychain.Important Links:
- 10 Legal Myths About Advance Medical Directives
- State by state statutes for advance directives
- Inquire about obtaining multiple copies of Essential Choices for your facility
- Purchase a Medical Passport with Essential Choices and your medical information
Please contact us here for additional information
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