Aug 15 2024 3 mins
There may come a time when due to injury, failing health, or age, you are no longer able to communicate your wishes regarding your medical treatment. This could happen if you had a stroke, are living with Alzheimer’s or other dementia, were in a coma from an accident, or have an illness that has left you unable to communicate.
Advance directive is a broad term use to describe any legal documentation that spells out your future medical care if you are incapacitated or unable to communicate, as in the scenarios referenced above.
This would answer questions such as how much treatment do you want at the end of life? Do you want life support? Do you want a ventilator? Do you want a feeding tube?
Your medical power of attorney (POA) would be part of your advance directive, the person who will make decisions on your behalf, according to your wishes. Your living will guide your medical POA on your wishes.
A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order may be part of your advance directive as well. If you're someone that doesn't want full treatment, it's important to do have a DNR order because the default in the hospital and the default for medics that come to your home is always full treatment.
Have open conversations about these wishes. If you do have children and a spouse or a partner, making sure they understand your desire. If you're assisting your parents, these documents are really important.
And when adult children reach out to assist with their parents and maybe they're frustrated that their parents are refusing help or their parents need more immediate care, it's often frustrating to them that we're asking about these documents as kind of the very first thing upfront because they feel unimportant when you're managing kind of crises at the moment. But these documents are what allow adult children to step in on behalf of their parents to engage services to get them help.
So that's why these documents are really the first step in planning and preparing for yourself for your parents.
Not sure what your next steps should be? We’ve helped hundreds of families navigate these conversations. Click here to schedule a get-acquainted call with one of our Certified Care Managers.
Additional resources:
- Advance Care Planning: Advance Directives for Health Care (National Institute on Aging)
- Estate Planning Guide and Checklist for 2024 (National Council on Aging)