Advance Care Planning: Making Choices for Your Health Care
What is Advance Care Planning?
No one can know when a serious illness or accident may happen. When it does, you may need someone to speak or make health care decisions for you. The best time to talk about what you want for medical care is before an illness or injury. This is when you have time to think, and talk with those you trust. If you plan now, you can make sure that the medical treatment you get in the future will be the treatment you would want. This process is known as Advance Care Planning.
Advance Care Planning is for everyone, not just those with a serious illness or those at the end of their life. An illness or injury can often come without warning. Most people never think there will be a time when they are unconscious or confused, but it can and does happen. When a patient cannot talk, it can be hard to know the right thing to do because the patient cannot tell a doctor what they want. Planning ahead can make sure you get care that follows your wishes, even if you cannot speak for yourself.
What are Advance Directives?
Advance Directives are your written statements that say how you want medical decisions to be made when you are not able to make those decisions for yourself. Advance Directives do not need to be notarized. You may have more than 1 kind of Advance Directive at a time. Filling an Advance Directive, and Advance Care Planning as a whole, does not require a lawyer.
Kinds of Advance Directives
Illinois law allows patients to make 4 kinds of advance directives:
Healthcare Power of Attorney (HPOA): A legal document that lets you choose someone you trust to be your medical decision-maker in case you cannot speak for yourself. Your medical decision-maker acts as your agent who knows your personal values and wishes for your medical care.
Living Will: A legal document you can use to say if you want to have death-delaying procedures withheld or withdrawn when you have been diagnosed with a terminal condition by a doctor.
Mental Health Treatment Declaration: This document allows a person with a mental illness to say whether or not they want electroconvulsive treatment (ECT) or psychotropic medicine, when they are unable to make decisions for themselves. It also allows them to decide if they wish to be admitted to a mental health facility for up to 17 days of treatment.
POLST (Provider Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment): A health care provider’s order that states whether or not you want CPR and other life-sustaining treatments or medical interventions.
How to Get Started
To get started with Advance Care Planning, ask your health care provider. To prepare for a conversation with your medical team you can use the Advance Care Planning Guide and documents below. For more information on the Healthcare Power of Attorney visit our HPOA page.
Resources to Help You Plan Ahead
The Advance Care Planning Guide can help you think about your goals, wishes and values. It can also help you think about the kind of health care you would want if you are not able to speak for yourself, in case of accident or illness. The guide also provides tips for talking with those you trust.
Advance Care Planning Guide:
- Advance Care Planning – Making Choices for Your Health Care
- Advance Care Planning – Making Choices for Your Health Care (Arabic)
- Advance Care Planning – Making Choices for Your Health Care (Chinese)
- Advance Care Planning – Making Choices for Your Health Care (Polish)
- Advance Care Planning – Making Choices for Your Health Care (Spanish)
You didn't my ice cream?
No, I'm just messing with you. It's in there.
You're funny, huh?
Hey, Dad, I noticed the house next door is for sale. What happened to Mr. and Mrs. Anderson?
I didn't tell you? Mrs. Anderson had a really bad stroke.
Oh, no. A stroke? Is she OK?
Well, she's alive. But she's been on life support for like two months. And Mr. Anderson, well, the bills keep piling up so he put it up for sale.
Wow. You think she's going to make it?
I mean, the doctors think so, but they doubt that she'll ever walk or talk again.
Jeez. I can't imagine having to live like that. Can you dad?
I don't know. I mean, I don't even want to think about it. Let's just put the groceries up and let's talk about something else.
Nobody likes to think about being sick, but serious illness happens to us all sooner or later. Life is unpredictable and illness and injury often come without warning. But what is for certain is that we will all face a time when we can't speak for ourselves. Unfortunately, most patients who are very ill or injured will lose the ability to communicate their opinions.
However, important choices still need to be made when we, as health care providers, are caring for our sickest patients. These decisions have serious consequences and can be hard to predict.
Your brother can't swallow. Do you think he would want a feeding tube?
Would your mother want CPR if her heart stopped?
Do you think your husband would want to be on a ventilator?
When these decisions need to be made about your care, who will speak for you and what will they say? Do they know what you'd want done and what you wouldn't want? Do they know what's important to you? And do you know? When that time comes, a surrogate or proxy will need to speak for you. Now is when you have the power to decide who you want that person to be.
This person, your person, is what we call a Medical POA or Healthcare Power of Attorney. You can quickly select your Healthcare POA today, and it's easy to do.
Who will speak for you and do they know what matters to you?
A Medical or Healthcare Power of Attorney or POA is like your emergency contact person, but so much more. A Healthcare POW, also called a Medical Proxy, or a Surrogate Decision Maker, is the person you believe knows you so well they could make critical decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself.
You might not be able to communicate your wishes when important medical decisions need to be made. If you are in an accident, become very ill, or undergo surgery, a POA is the person you trust who will honor your values and preferences for medical care.
Adults have the right to express their choice of POA using a simple legal document. For people who did not choose a POA, an alternate decision maker will be used by your healthcare team based on your state's laws to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot make them for yourself.
Patience without Healthcare POAs can get their needs overlooked, making it difficult for a medical team to know what's right when we have to make critical decisions. Most people never expect to be in a situation where they are unconscious or confused, but it happens all the time.
When patients can't talk, it's hard as a doctor to know the right thing to do because the patient can't tell me their wishes.
Hey, Son, you got a minute?
Sure, Mom. What's up?
Well, I know you don't like to think about this anymore, but when I had that heart attack last year and was in the hospital, I've had a lot of thinking to do since then in that I want to talk to you about something that's very important to me.
That was a scary time. Mom, we thought we were going to lose you. Yeah, I still hate to even think about it. But why are you bringing this up now? You're a survivor.
Well, I know, but I haven't talked to you and your father about this before, but when I was in the hospital on that ventilator, it was very hard on my body. I know I'm OK now, but things could have been very different, you know. And I think God every day that I'm still here because I could not have pulled through.
Dad and I are grateful, too. You gave us a real scare.
I'm glad I'm OK now. But I might not be as fortunate next time. So what I'm trying to say is, I don't want to be on life support if this happens again.
OK. But why are we talking about this now?
Now is the time to have this conversation when we are not under stress our time pressure. I want to make you my Medical Power of Attorney. And since you know what I want, then you can tell the doctor and let them know if this should happen again because I believe that if God wants me on this earth, He'll protect me. And if I need life support, it's time. So please, let me go.
I respect your decision, Mom. I love you.
I love you, too, Son.
When decisions need to be made quickly, having a POA is critical, especially when there are multiple family members with different opinions or who don't physically live in the same place or communicate often. Choosing a healthcare POA is an act of love. It takes the burden off your family to try to guess your wishes if you were to become seriously ill.
Choosing a Medical Power of Attorney may be easy, but it's often not discussed until it's too late. A POA is your person. Selecting your person is simple and can be done for free at home-- and, you don't need a lawyer. Simply search for your state's Healthcare POA form online or ask your care team for help. Then, fill out the form and share it with your person and medical providers.
This person will be asked to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot make them for yourself. Your Medical POA does not have to be a family member. Whoever you trust and knows you well is a great choice.
Over half of patients hospitalized with serious illness will need a proxy to speak for them when decisions are being made about life support. So choose your POA today, and make sure someone you trust is speaking for you when it matters most.
Your Healthcare Power of Attorney or POA is your person.
Someone you know who has only your best interests in their heart.
Someone who will speak for you when you can't speak for yourself.
Hey, doc. How's my dad doing? Do you think he's going to make it?
Well, I don't have great news. Your father's very sick and I don't think he's going to be able to take care of himself again.
I see. You know, I thought the news would be something hard to hear like that.
We have some really important decisions to make about his care. Had he ever talked to you about what he would want if he was sick like this?
Yeah, you know, it was a difficult conversation and he made it very clear what he would want.
Designate your Healthcare POA today and let your voice be heard.
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