Coronavirus: Do you have your advance directives?

Recent news here and abroad has highlighted the urgent need for advance care planning, a conversation about how we would want to live when faced with a serious or sudden illness. This planning often results in a document also known as an advance directive. A few recent headlines are:

Honoring Choices Florida, a program of Community Hospice & Palliative Care is providing free advance care planning materials and resources to our community, not just to our patients and families.

The actual planning tool can be downloaded for free at HonoringChoicesFL.com, where you will find resources to help you determine your goals of care, and how to choose a healthcare surrogate – the person who becomes your advocate in the event that you can no longer speak for yourself. Should questions arise during the process of planning, we encourage you to call 904.407.7024, and if you would like a one-on-one session, we will gladly make those arrangements telephonically.

Conversations about advance care planning are in the news now because of the severity of the health crisis. We may be apart from our loved ones who may be unable to be present in the event of a health emergency. Honoring Choices Florida ensures you have the opportunity to talk about the care you would want and document your decisions. This ensures you receive the care you want, when you want it, and where you want it. It is critical that you share what matters most to you, so that your wishes can be fulfilled by your team of medical professionals, and your loved ones aren’t stressed and strained about decision making during an already tenuous and uncertain time.