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Attorney General's Office promotes Life Care Planning
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| Cheryl Bowlby, left, of Willcox speaks with Debra Boehlke, community outreach coordinator from the Attorney General's Office about advance directives for life care planning. (Photo by Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News) |
By Ainslee S. Wittig/Arizona Range News
Northern Cochise Community Hospital and Charles Wm. Leighton Jr. Hospice, Inc., sponsored "Life Care Planning for Everyone," presented Thursday by the Arizona Attorney General's Office in Willcox.
Three presentations were held at Best Western Plaza Inn's Kiva Room. Each offered a video by Attorney General Terry Goddard and a packet of life care planning information and documents to those in attendance.
In the video, Goddard said, "People mistakenly think this type of planning is only for senior citizens, but that is not true."
He also added that the forms can be filled out and legitimized without the help or expense of an attorney.
The forms discussed included a living will, durable health care power of attorney, durable mental health care power of attorney, setter to my agent (or representative), and a pre-hospital medical directive called a do not resuscitate (DNR) order.
All of these forms may be found online at the Office of the Arizona Attorney General's website at www.azag.gov or by calling 1-800-352-8431.
"'Life Care Planning for Everyone' encourages open discussion among family members so that well-reasoned choices can be made before an emergency occurs - choices that will significantly reduce stress on families," said Debra Boehlke, community outreach coordinator from the Attorney General's Office.
The Living Will provides guidance to family members about your wishes for health care if you are ever in a terminal condition, persistent vegetative state or irreversible coma. The document states what choices you would have made for yourself if you were able to communicate. The document does not go into effect unless you are unable to communicate verbally or in writing.
The Durable Health Care Power of Attorney names a person you trust to make future health care decisions for you if you become too ill or cannot make those decisions for yourself. Be sure to discuss your choices with that person so you know they are willing to follow your wishes. Also discuss your choices with family members so there are fewer surprises during an emergency situation. Your Living Will provides guidance for your agent and should be attached to this form.
A Durable Mental Health Care Power of Attorney allows the person you designate to make future mental health care decisions for you if you are incapable of making those decisions. This includes placing you in a structured treatment setting with 24-hour supervision licensed by the Department of Health Care Services. Boehlke said this power of attorney will help if you are suffering from mental illnesses rendering you incapable of making decisions, such as Alzheimer's Disease, whereas the health care power of attorney will not.
The Letter to My Agent asks for a representative of your choice and an alternate representative if necessary to make decisions with permission of the Durable Health Care Power of Attorney or the Durable Mental Health Care Power of Attorney based on your desires expressed in your Living Will and DNR order if applicable.
Boehlke said it is important to discuss your choices with you representative(s) and family members, as it will spare the family pain in making decisions on their own and limit disputes between family members.
"You may still have a family member take you to court, but with these documents, the courts are now more inclined to rule in favor of your wishes," she said.
The Do Not Resuscitate medical directive is one that should only be filled out by people in end-stage or terminal illnesses.
"It is not for those healthy people who do not want to linger on in a vegetative state following a car accident. As a healthy person, you don't want to have a DNR order. But you can put instructions in your Living Will stipulating that if you are in a car accident and you end up in a persistent vegetative state, that you don't want to be resuscitated," she said.
One woman in attendance said there are situations where these documents don't work as well as anticipated.
"I have a family member at an assisted living facility and they just call 911 when something happens despite these advance directives posted on the back of (the family member's) door. They don't call the family first and they ignore the directives," she said.
Boehlke said, "Facilities are concerned with liability issues, and you should talk to the local paramedics and EMTs to make them aware of the directives. And when they get to the hospital, they need to be aware as well. To get a wallet-sized card to have on the patient, call our office (1-800-458-5842)."
Once the documents are completed, sign them with a witness present and then send them or scan and send them to the Arizona Advance Directive Registry, an online database where directives are stored allowing health care providers to access them using information provided by the registrant or the registrant's family.
For more information on the registry or to register your directives at the Secretary of State's Web site, www.azsos.gov, call 1-800-458-5842.
With life care planning, people of all ages can make their choices known about who will manage their affairs in the event of an emergency, she said.
Three presentations were held at Best Western Plaza Inn's Kiva Room. Each offered a video by Attorney General Terry Goddard and a packet of life care planning information and documents to those in attendance.
In the video, Goddard said, "People mistakenly think this type of planning is only for senior citizens, but that is not true."
He also added that the forms can be filled out and legitimized without the help or expense of an attorney.
The forms discussed included a living will, durable health care power of attorney, durable mental health care power of attorney, setter to my agent (or representative), and a pre-hospital medical directive called a do not resuscitate (DNR) order.
All of these forms may be found online at the Office of the Arizona Attorney General's website at www.azag.gov or by calling 1-800-352-8431.
"'Life Care Planning for Everyone' encourages open discussion among family members so that well-reasoned choices can be made before an emergency occurs - choices that will significantly reduce stress on families," said Debra Boehlke, community outreach coordinator from the Attorney General's Office.
The Living Will provides guidance to family members about your wishes for health care if you are ever in a terminal condition, persistent vegetative state or irreversible coma. The document states what choices you would have made for yourself if you were able to communicate. The document does not go into effect unless you are unable to communicate verbally or in writing.
The Durable Health Care Power of Attorney names a person you trust to make future health care decisions for you if you become too ill or cannot make those decisions for yourself. Be sure to discuss your choices with that person so you know they are willing to follow your wishes. Also discuss your choices with family members so there are fewer surprises during an emergency situation. Your Living Will provides guidance for your agent and should be attached to this form.
A Durable Mental Health Care Power of Attorney allows the person you designate to make future mental health care decisions for you if you are incapable of making those decisions. This includes placing you in a structured treatment setting with 24-hour supervision licensed by the Department of Health Care Services. Boehlke said this power of attorney will help if you are suffering from mental illnesses rendering you incapable of making decisions, such as Alzheimer's Disease, whereas the health care power of attorney will not.
The Letter to My Agent asks for a representative of your choice and an alternate representative if necessary to make decisions with permission of the Durable Health Care Power of Attorney or the Durable Mental Health Care Power of Attorney based on your desires expressed in your Living Will and DNR order if applicable.
Boehlke said it is important to discuss your choices with you representative(s) and family members, as it will spare the family pain in making decisions on their own and limit disputes between family members.
"You may still have a family member take you to court, but with these documents, the courts are now more inclined to rule in favor of your wishes," she said.
The Do Not Resuscitate medical directive is one that should only be filled out by people in end-stage or terminal illnesses.
"It is not for those healthy people who do not want to linger on in a vegetative state following a car accident. As a healthy person, you don't want to have a DNR order. But you can put instructions in your Living Will stipulating that if you are in a car accident and you end up in a persistent vegetative state, that you don't want to be resuscitated," she said.
One woman in attendance said there are situations where these documents don't work as well as anticipated.
"I have a family member at an assisted living facility and they just call 911 when something happens despite these advance directives posted on the back of (the family member's) door. They don't call the family first and they ignore the directives," she said.
Boehlke said, "Facilities are concerned with liability issues, and you should talk to the local paramedics and EMTs to make them aware of the directives. And when they get to the hospital, they need to be aware as well. To get a wallet-sized card to have on the patient, call our office (1-800-458-5842)."
Once the documents are completed, sign them with a witness present and then send them or scan and send them to the Arizona Advance Directive Registry, an online database where directives are stored allowing health care providers to access them using information provided by the registrant or the registrant's family.
For more information on the registry or to register your directives at the Secretary of State's Web site, www.azsos.gov, call 1-800-458-5842.
With life care planning, people of all ages can make their choices known about who will manage their affairs in the event of an emergency, she said.
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