Choose your health care representative and talk with them about your desires

Aiming to raise awareness of the need to plan ahead for decisions related to end-of-life care and medical needs whenever patients are unable to speak for themselves, Mayor Lynda Dunbar (seated, center) signs a proclamation recognizing Tuesday, April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day in Greencastle. The national day of recognition also encourages the specific use of written advance directives to communicate such decisions. Estimates place only 30 percent of people in Greencastle as having executed an advance directive, and less than 40 percent of severely or terminally ill patients. Joining Dunbar for the proclamation and displaying Vital Medical Information Files are Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association representatives (seated, from left) Elaine Peck, Brand Selvia, (back) Amber Alexander, Sue McCune and Cathy McCall.

Courtesy photo

April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day, and Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) wishes to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of choosing a healthcare representative and talking with them.

Your health care representative is the person who will tell your healthcare provider what medical care you would want if you should become unable to speak for yourself. Your health care representative can make medical decisions for you if you become unable to make your own decisions. This is important for ALL adults – at ALL stages of life and health. Accidents and sudden medical emergencies can and do happen.

Human beings naturally fear death and dying. With the advancements of modern medicine and the busy pace of modern life, we tend to operate as though we will live forever. Yet, all of us will face death in our lives at some time – our own or a loved one’s.

Spiritual leaders throughout time and place have stressed the importance and value of facing our own and others’ mortality. In addition, research supports the benefits of choosing a healthcare representative and having conversations with them in advance of a crisis – for both the patient’s quality of life and for their loved ones’ stress and grieving process.

PCHPCA has free information and resources for individuals and healthcare professionals and is happy to provide this information to you at a time of your convenience. Contact us for free assistance.

For more information contact Elaine Peck, director, at epeck@pchosp.org or visit www.pchpca.org.