National Health Care Decisions Week kicks off on April 14 with a nationwide effort to raise awareness about the importance of advance health care decision-making. This initiative encourages people to take proactive steps in planning for their future health care needs.
Through various events and resources, the week aims to promote thoughtful conversations about health care decisions and the completion of advance directives to ensure patients’ wishes are known and respected.
As part of this effort, Five Wishes, Florida’s advance care planning initiative coordinated by Community Hospice & Palliative Care, provides essential tools and information for the public to discuss their health care wishes with family, friends and health care providers. These resources help individuals complete written advance directives (health care surrogate and living will) by Florida state laws. To access these tools, go to fivewishes.org.
Additionally, Community Hospice & Palliative Care uses the My Directives program, a tool offering individuals a straightforward, digital platform for making and sharing health care decisions with their loved ones and health care providers. This program helps ensure patients’ wishes are known and respected, especially in critical situations.
As a result of National Healthcare Decisions Day, the goal is for people to have thoughtful conversations about their health care decisions and complete reliable advance directives to make their wishes known. Fewer families and health care providers will have to struggle with making difficult health care decisions without guidance from the patient.
Health care providers and facilities will be better equipped to address advance health care planning issues before a crisis and be better able to honor patient wishes when the time comes to do so.
For more information about National Health Care Decision Day, go to nhdd.org
