01/05/2024
The article is quoted as saying “Among the 54% of older adults who had not completed medical durable power of attorney or advance directive documents, 62% said they had not gotten around to it, 15% did not know how, 13% said they do not like talking about these things, 13% did not think it necessary, 9% said no one asked them to, and 7% were deterred by cost.”
I looked at the glaringly large percentage that have not taken these steps to protect their own future rights, because they simply haven’t gotten around to it. We as humans prioritize tackling issues that we are faced with in the moment. Meanwhile if you’re talking about a problem that has not even come to fruition yet, and on top of that it’s inconvenient, time-consuming, uncomfortable to talk about, confusing, and/or expensive, there’s going to be a low number of people that do it.
After years in the healthcare industry, many of which were spent at the bedside, I’ve seen countless patients unable to speak for themselves. Some, in a position where serious medical decisions have to be made. Without having their preferences recorded ahead of time, or having an appointed healthcare representative able to speak for them, it is left up to the healthcare team to do their best to make the right choices having no knowledge of the individuals preferences.
On the other side of the coin, I’ve had family members that are extremely supportive share that in retrospect they wish they hadn’t had the responsibility of being their loved ones healthcare representative at the end. There is a level of challenge around upholding difficult healthcare decisions for your loved one, that you cannot fully understand until you’ve been in that position. Often, at these times family members wish they could just serve the role of loving husband or wife, supportive son or daughter, or close friend, without the added weight of legal “healthcare representative”.
You may reason that you know you can trust your family to make the right choices when the time comes. You of course are correct. But, also know that leaving your family to determine these decisions under already highly emotional circumstances, can be a source of added anxiety, stress, and pain. It is truly a kindness to remove the burden of decision making from them ahead of time.
My goal with this endeavor is to make advanced directives and healthcare representation, convenient, easily accessible, and affordable for everyone.
We offer a full suite of healthcare consultation options. Whether you just want assistance filling out and distributing your advanced directives, or you would like a licensed healthcare professional to act as your personal healthcare representative, we can help. If you need help navigating a major change like moving from the community into a healthcare setting, or you just want have a conversation about what resources are available for your specific needs, we’re here.
Our mission is providing protection through planning and advocacy. We want our business name to become synonymous with trustworthiness and dependability. So please if you have any questions or feel we could meet your needs, give us a call. Let us start by earning your trust.
