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Monday, September 06, 2010

Advance Directives
March 8, 2010

Many people are becoming more interested in choosing the medical care they would be given if they should become seriously ill and unable to communicate their wishes. Today, medical technology presents us with a number of treatments that prolong life. Some do not wish such treatment; others wish to take advantage of every procedure available. Often, decisions must be made when the patient is no longer able to state preferences. That’s why a growing number of people are taking an active role in their care before they become seriously ill by stating their health care preferences in writing while they are still able to make such decisions. These legal written documents are called Advance Directives.

An Advance Directive is a way for you to say what you want when you are very sick, have been in a serious accident or you cannot decide for yourself. A serious accident is a scary time for anyone and important decisions may need to be made quickly. It may be difficult for those who know and love you to remember what you said about the kind of medical care that you want. Writing down what you want and who you want to speak for you is the best way to help doctors know your wishes when you are not able to communicate them yourself.

Iowa law provides two types of Advance Directives: the Living Will (the Iowa Declaration) and the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care. A Living Will is a directive to your physician in which you can specify the kind of life-prolonging medical care you want if you become terminally ill, permanently unconscious or in a vegetative state and are unable to make your own decisions. A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care names another person to make medical decisions for you if you are unable to make them for yourself at any time, not just at the end of life. Both documents apply only when you are unable to make your own decisions.

While it is not necessary to consult your attorney for your Advance Directive to be a legally binding document, it is often helpful. In the state of Iowa for an Advance Directive to be legal, it must be notarized or witnessed by two (at least one non-relative) persons who are not named on the front of the form and are not a part of the health care team providing care. You may change or revoke these documents at any time. Any alterations should be signed and dated, and copies should be given to the appropriate people. Even without an official written change, your orally expressed direction to your physician has priority over any statement made in a Living Will or Power of Attorney.

An Advance Directive does not answer every question, but it will address questions that will help your Power of Attorney know some of your thoughts and ideas about life and death. Before deciding what choices about your care at the end of life are best, you should talk over the issues involved with your family and your physician and decide whether Advance Directives are right for you. The best time to talk with the people you love about what you want and to write things down is when you are feeling good and thinking clearly.

If you would like more information on Advance Directives or assistance in obtaining these documents, please contact Cathi Burnette, LBSW, Department of Social Services at the Grundy County Memorial Hospital at 319-824-5421, ext. 4129.

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