National Health Care Decisions Day is April 16, 2011
On behalf of the National Healthcare Decisions Day Initiative, I am very excited to ask for your participation in National Healthcare Decisions Day on Friday, April 16, 2010. On this day, all across the country, health care facilities, health care professionals, chaplains, the legal community, and others will be participating in a collective effort to highlight the importance of making advance healthcare decisions and to provide tools for making these decisions. www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org and nhdd@nhpco.org
For information about South Florida affordable, quality home health care, as well as the importance of advance health care directives, contact Brian Gauthier at A Family Member Home Care (954) 986-5090 or http://www.afamilymemberhomecare.com/.
For information about South Florida affordable, quality home health care, as well as the importance of advance health care directives, contact Brian Gauthier at A Family Member Home Care (954) 986-5090 or http://www.afamilymemberhomecare.com/.
As you may know, the Federal Patient Self-Determination Act requires that all Medicare-participating healthcare facilities inquire about and provide information to patients on advance directives. It also requires these facilities to provide community education on advance directives. Unfortunately, despite these requirements and state laws giving patients a choice about their healthcare, it is estimated that only a small minority of people have executed an advance directive. Moreover, fewer than 50 percent of severely or terminally ill patients have an advance directive in their medical records.
National Healthcare Decisions Day seeks to address the public’s misunderstandings about advance healthcare planning and advance directives, including that:
- A living will and a healthcare power of attorney are the same;
- Advance directives are only used for limiting care;
- A lawyer is needed to draft an advance directive and/or that it is hard to do;
- Severe illness or a catastrophic injury will never happen to them
In an effort to educate the public and demystify the topic of advance care planning, the National Healthcare Decisions Day Initiative is working to:
- Secure participation of every hospital, nursing home, and assisted living facility in the country as well as a broad array of community organizations focused on healthcare;
- Secure participation by professionals throughout the country, including physicians, nurses, chaplains, and attorneys;
- Create a diversified set of resources to provide clear, concise, and consistent information to the public about healthcare decision-making and advance directives
- Increase the number of people who have engaged in thoughtful advance care planning.
Ultimately, National Healthcare Decisions Day strives to provide much-needed information to the public, reduce the number of tragedies that occur when a patient’s wishes are unknown, and improve the ability of healthcare facilities and providers to offer informed and thoughtful guidance about advance healthcare planning to their patients.
We thank you for joining us in making this initiative a success. If you have any questions, visit
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