April 16th is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD). Nathan Kottkamp, the Founder and Chair of National Healthcare Decisions Day, saw the need for creating a day to discuss healthcare decisions after serving on several hospital ethics committees and being repeatedly confronted with distressful end of life situations. Families, providers, and hospital administrators struggled to interpret the wishes of patients who never made their healthcare wishes known or failed to complete an advance directive to record their stated wishes. Both the loved one and their families suffered undue burden because wishes and needs were not written and shared.
The objectives of NHDD are:
*to provide information to the public,
*reduce the difficulties that occur when a person’s wishes are unknown,
*improve the ability of healthcare facilities and providers to offer informed and
thoughtful guidance about advance healthcare planning to their patients.
The particular day of April 16 was inspired by Benjamin Franklin’s quip that “nothing in life is certain but death and taxes”. The decisions aren’t only for end-of-life discussions, but to encourage all adults to discuss and document their wishes for any event in which they cannot speak for themselves. Studies show that only about 27% of adults have engaged in advance care planning.
Join the Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association for Lunch & Healthcare Decisions on April 15th at noon in 3rd Floor classrooms of the Putnam County Hospital. The presentation will focus on what kinds of decisions need to be made, what documents are needed and how to make sure healthcare decisions are honored. The brown bag event begins at noon.
The Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association will host “Dessert and Decisions” on April 16th in the Putnam County Hospital Lobby from 10A – 4P. Guests can get free copies of Advance Care Planning documents, have conversations with PCHPCA board members, and have dessert. For links to resources visit our website, www.pchpca.org.
