Health Care Directives

It is important to delineate your wishes and directives regarding your healthcare decisions.  Health Care Directives are critical in the event you are rendered unconscious, incompetent or otherwise unable to state your wishes.  A Health Care Directive ensures that your family or chosen representatives can make important medical decisions if you are unable to do so.

A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care is a document by which you select another person (your agent, representative or attorney-in-fact) to make health care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to do so.  It remains in effect indefinitely or until revoked.

A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care provides your agent with various powers of your choosing, including:

• The right to refuse consent to treatment;
• The right to consent to treatment;
• The right to allow others access to your medical records;
• The right to withdraw and cease life sustaining treatment;
• The right to make burial decisions, including cremation; and
• The right to make anatomical gifts (organ donation).