National Healthcare Decisions Day

HealthWatch for April 2009
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The second annual National Healthcare Decisions Day is observed this year on April 16.  All across the country, health care facilities, health care professionals, religious organizations, the legal community and others participate in a collective effort to encourage patients to express their wishes regarding healthcare through conversations and the completion of advance directives.  It is estimated that only a small minority of people (roughly 25%) have executed an advance directive.  Moreover, fewer than 50% of severely or terminally ill patients have an advance directive in their medical records.  National Health Care Decisions Day seeks to address the public’s misunderstandings about advance directives and to increase awareness of the benefits of advance healthcare planning (Source: National Healthcare Decisions Day).

For more info and resources on National Healthcare Decisions Day click on these links.

State and Local
Hospice of the Western Reserve
Cleveland Clinic: Advance Directives
NHPCO: Ohio Advance Directive Planning for Important Healthcare Decisions
Ohio Hospital Association (OHA): End of Life Care and Advance Directives
Ohio Hospice & Palliative Care Organization: Living Wills and Advance Directives
State of Ohio Legal Rights Service: Advance Directives

National
National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD)
AARP: End of Life Planning
American Hospital Association (AHA): Put it in Writing
National Institutes of Health (NIH): Advance Directives
American Bar Association (ABA): Tool Kit for Health Care Advance Planning
National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization (NHPCO): Caring Connections