FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: 04/10/2024
Greencastle, Indiana.
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association is gearing up for National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16th, and in preparation, provides these terms that every adult should know.
- Advance Care Planning (ACP)– Advance care planning for healthcare is a process to help any adult, at any age or stage of health, understand and share goals and preferences for future healthcare. This will help your healthcare team, family, and friends know what you want in case of a sudden medical crisis, accident, or serious illness. Ideally, this process occurs before a crisis, and your wishes are legally documented in an advance directive, shared with your loved ones, and recorded in your medical record.
- Advance Directive – An advance directive is a legal document in which you provide written instructions about your future healthcare choices and/or who should speak for you should you become unable to make decisions for yourself due to an accident or illness. These documents are witnessed and signed in "advance" - while you still have capacity - and shared with your healthcare representative, loved ones, and physicians. Advance directives are reviewed periodically and become more specific as your health changes. You may change your instructions at any time either verbally or in writing. You remain responsible for making your own medical decisions until a doctor certifies that you are no longer able to do so. You do not need a lawyer to complete these documents.
Healthcare Representative (HCR) – A healthcare representative is the person you choose to make medical decisions for you in the future if you should become unable to make them for yourself due to an accident or illness. This person will tell your healthcare providers what type of medical care you would want when you are not able to speak for yourself. Your healthcare representative’s responsibility is to make medical decisions in accordance with your wishes, if they are known, and to make decisions in your best interest if your wishes are not known.
The Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association (PCHPCA) seeks to enhance the quality of life for the terminally ill, their loved ones, and caregivers, by educating the Putnam County community about the benefits of hospice, palliative care, and advance care planning. PCHPCA is a nonprofit, public charity, and operates with the help of donations, financial support from the Putnam County Community Foundation, and fiscal sponsorship by the Putnam County Hospital. For more information, please visit www.pchpca.org.
Contact information:
M. Elaine Peck, Director
Putnam County Hospice and Palliative Care Association
1542 South Bloomington Street
Greencastle, IN 46135
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