Return To Main Site

National Healthcare Decisions Day is set for Thursday, April 16, 2009

 
On April 16th, Partners HealthCare System will participate in a massive effort to highlight the importance of advance care planning, meaning making decisions in advance about the types and extent of care you desire at the end of life.

This is a national effort that has culminated in the formal annual designation of April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD). Last year, the U.S. Senate issued a proclamation in support of NHDD (Sen.Con.Res.73). Again this year, Governor Deval Patrick will issue a state proclamation supporting NHDD in Massachusetts. Partners HealthCare is both a national participant and a state sponsor of NHDD, as a core member of the MA NHDD Planning Consortium.

NHDD exists to remind all people, regardless of age or current health, of the importance of making these health care decisions. On April 16th, Partners HealthCare hospitals will welcome the public throughout the day by providing free information about advance care planning and advance directive forms. The public will have the opportunity to talk about your wishes with family, friends and healthcare providers, to complete your advance directive, and to encourage all your loved ones to do the same. An advance directive is a legal document that tells healthcare providers who it is that you wish to make medical decisions for you and what treatments you would want or not want, if you are not able to tell us what you want. Advance directives come in 2 main forms:

A "healthcare power of attorney" (or "proxy" or "agent" or "surrogate") documents the person you select to be your voice for your healthcare decisions if you cannot speak for yourself.
A "living will" documents what kinds of medical treatments you would or would not want at the end of life.

On April 16th, you will have the chance to learn about what these documents are as well as information on legal requirements in Massachusetts.

NHDD fits into a state-wide campaign to educate residents of MA about the importance of advance care planning and palliative care toward the end of life. On March 3, PHS President and CEO Dr. James J. Mongan was interviewed by the Greater Boston Chamber of Commerce Tuesday to address the ethical challenge of "when to let life end". Also, throughout the month of April the Mass Medical Society (MMS) will air a television show on Hospice & Palliative Care to 227 towns on Community Access Channels.

At all Partners HealthCare hospitals on April 16, including Massachusetts General Hospital, Brigham and Women's Hospital, Newton-Wellesley Hospital, North Shore Medical Center, and Faulkner Hospital, look for communications about National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) and staff wearing buttons saying, "As me about Advance Directives!"

Whether on NHDD April 16 or a time more convenient for you, it is never too early for you to think about completing an advance directive, or at least to consider your own preferences surrounding end of life care.
To learn more, visit: www.nationalhealthcaredecisionsday.org