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Aging
with Dignity celebrates National Healthcare
Decisions Day
Encourage states to
allow citizens to use their own words, not
government forms, to express their health
care wishes; "Five Wishes" living will is a
national resource for advance care planning
TALLAHASSEE, FL-- Aging with
Dignity, a national non-profit organization
that created and distributes the Five
Wishes living will, joins with thousands
of other organizations nationwide on
April 16th to encourage Americans to
complete an advance directive on National
Healthcare Decisions Day.
An advance directive - also called a living
will - designates the person to whom you
grant legal authority to make health care
decisions for you if you cannot make them
yourself.
It also directs the person in life support
treatment options, allowing you to state
what you want or don't want.
Surveys show only about one in five
Americans has completed an advance
directive, even though everyone over age 18
should.
People often don't follow through because
many advance directive forms are written in
confusing medical and legal jargon.
"Many of the forms are so confusing they
inhibit the very family discussions
essential to making the decisions," Aging
with Dignity President, Paul Malley
said.
Malley
said a handful of states, particularly
Ohio
and Texas, make it even
more difficult for residents to complete
advance directives by requiring lengthy
Miranda-like warnings and even specifying
the physical appearance of the documents to
use.
Other states, including Alabama,
Indiana, Kansas,
Kentucky, Nevada
and New Hampshire, have
burdensome statutory provisions.
People whose primary language is not English
face even more difficulty.
Malley said Five Wishes is written in
everyday language and deals with issues of
comfort, dignity, forgiveness and family
relationships, in addition to medical and
legal matters.
It meets the legal requirements of at least
40 states and is used in all 50 to help plan
in advance of a serious illness.
More than 12 million copies are in national
circulation, distributed by more than 15,000
partner organizations. Five Wishes is
also available in 23 languages and in
Braille.
"Five Wishes is the closest thing
there is to a truly national living will,"
Malley said.
Complete information on advance directives
and Five Wishes is available at
www.agingwithdignity.org, or at
(888) 5-WISHES. Many local partner
organizations across America will be hosting
Five Wishes events during National
Healthcare Decisions Day.
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