Advance Care Planning .
Advance Care Planning (ACP) is a process
of communication for planning for your future medical decisions. To be
effective, this process includes:
• Reflection on your goals, values, and
beliefs (including cultural, religious, spiritual, and personal)
• Understanding of possible future
situations and decisions
• Sharing of these reflections and
decisions with those who might need to carry out the plan
Click to hear Amran and Paul's stories about Advance Care Planning.
Watch Make Your Wishes Known: Advance Care Planning Workshop (Updated March 2020)
Advance Directives
Why do I need to do Advance Care Planning?
FAQS
Documents and Tools
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You have the right to
make your own healthcare decisions. Often these decisions are made together
with your family and the advice of your doctor. It is usually best to include
family and physicians in this process to avoid conflict when end-of-life
decisions arise: family members may have personal beliefs that differ from
yours and physicians may give insight to end-of-life issues not previously
considered.
How
can you be sure that your choices will be honored if you are
incapacitated? Before you become ill, make your choices known by
completing written instructions about your future medical care in
the event you are unable to express your medical wishes.
Advance
Directives typically refer to two legal documents, both recommended for anyone
over the age of 18 years:
- Durable Power of
Attorney for Health Care (Also referred to as Health Care Proxy, Health Care
Agent, or Surrogate Decision Maker)
- Health Care Directive
(Also referred to as a Living Will)
1. Durable
Power of Attorney for Health Care (DPOA) - Also referred to as Health Care
Agent, Health Care Proxy.
This
document reflects who you would want to make medical decisions on your behalf
in the event you are too ill to make decisions for themselves. Washington state
law requires that this directive be notarized and/or witnessed. You may change
or cancel this directive at any time.
Your
Health Care Agent needs to be someone willing to:
- Accept the role
- Talk about your goals,
values, and preferences
- Follow your decisions
(even if they do not agree with them), and
- Make decisions in
difficult moments.
Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care
Washington
State Surrogate Decision Making Hierarchy
- A guardian with health
care decision-making authority, if one has been appointed
- The person named in
the durable power of attorney with health care decision-making authority
- Your spouse or
state-registered domestic partner
- Your adult children
(over 18)*
- Your parents*
- Your adult brothers
and sisters*
- Adult grandchildren*
- Adult nieces/nephews*
- Adult aunts/uncles*
- Close adult friend (with requirements and limitations)
*Any group that has more than one person: all available individuals in the group must agree to the care.
2. Health Care Directive - also known as a Living Will.
This
document outlines your wishes and preferences for medical care in the event of
a fatal illness or permanent state of unconsciousness. It serves as a guide for
health care providers and surrogate decision-makers when you are unable to make
decisions for yourself.
Health Care Directive
“I have an Advance Directive not because I have a serious
illness, but because I have a family.” – Ira Byock, M.D.
Having your wishes known to your doctors and loved ones, not
only means that you are ensuring that you will receive medical treatment
consistent with your values, preference and goals, but it also takes away elements
of uncertainty and stress from your loved ones who may have to make decisions
on your behalf. You can give them the gift of advance care planning.
Even if you’re in good health, it’s still important to make sure
your healthcare team knows your wishes, since anyone’s health status can change
suddenly. Don’t wait until there’s a crisis. And don’t wait for your doctor to
bring it up. It always seems too early, until it’s too late.
What To Do With The Advance
Directive Forms
For your advance directive to be
useful, it must be accessible. When the time comes to find the document, it is
usually unavailable, placed away long ago for safekeeping. Keep your original
in a safe place and give copies to your health care agent, other family members
who could be involved in decision making, your primary care physician and your
attorney.
We are eager to receive your advance directives here at
Valley! Please bring a copy to your next appointment and we can get it into
your medical record so that it can be accessed in the case of an emergency.
There are also various online databases that allow you to
store your wishes and send links for your loved ones to access. Please check
out the online document storage options in Resources below.
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Planning for Your Estate
In addition to planning your
future medical care, you may also want to make arrangements in advance for the
distribution of your estate in the event of your death. Consider consulting an
attorney or planned giving specialist at a trusted charity. They can help
pursue planned giving options that reflect your priorities, values, and
financial objectives.
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- How do I Start?

- When is the right time
to do Advance Care Planning?
Early: Advance Directives can be completed at
18 years and older
Often: It is good practice to review Advance
Directives at the start of each decade 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70…
At major life events:
*When
you go to college
*When
you get married or divorced
*When
you have children
*When
you become eligible for Medicare
*When
you are going on a major trip
*When
you are newly diagnosed with a serious illness
Do I need an attorney?
An attorney
is not needed to complete ACP and Advance Directives.
Durable
Power of Attorney for Health Care must be notarized or witnessed by two people.
Witnesses cannot be:
*Home care
providers for the individual completing this document
*Care
providers at an adult family home or long-term care facility if you live there
*Related to
you or the designated Health Care Agent by blood, marriage, or state registered
domestic partnership
Health Care
Directive must be witnessed by two people
Witnesses cannot be:
*The attending
physician
*An employee
of the attending physician or health care facility in which the declarer is a
patient
*Any person
who has a claim against any portion of the individual’s estate (Named in a will)
What do I do with my Advance Care Planning documents?
*Keep your original documents in a secure but easily accessible
place.
*Provide copies of your documents to the following:
*Your Health Care Agent/Proxy
*Your family members who could be involved in end of life
decision making
*Your primary care physician (At Valley Medical Center, we are
eager to receive your documents! Feel free to bring them in at your next
appointment.)
*Your Attorney
- What is a POLST?
The Physician Orders for Life
Sustaining Treatment (POLST)form is a ‘portable’ medical order that
describes your current wishes in the event your heart stops. It must be signed
by a provider to be valid. It includes the following: your wishes for
resuscitation, medical interventions, antibiotics and artificial feedings.
This form is not for
everyone! It is designed for people living with a serious illness or in
very poor health. If you do have one, you should keep it on your refrigerator or in a designated place where family and medics
can locate it quickly.
What is a code?
A code (resuscitation) is a set of potentially life-saving
procedures performed on a person whose heart and/or lungs have suddenly stopped
functioning. Current healthcare practice requires that attempts at
resuscitation must be made unless otherwise specified.
Calling 911 will
activate all resuscitation efforts despite previous decisions, unless you have
executed a "Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST)"
form or bracelet. It is always a good idea to keep a copy of your wishes in a
readily accessible location for emergency medical staff, such as keeping it on
top of the refrigerator.
What is a Mental
Health Directive?
The Mental Health Advance Directive is only for individuals
living with mental illness. A mental health advance directive is a legal
written document that describes what you want to happen if your mental health
problems become so severe that you need help from others. This might be when
your judgment is impaired, and/or you are unable to communicate effectively. It
can inform others about what treatment you want or don't want, and it can
identify a person to whom you have given the authority to make decisions on
your behalf.
- What is informed
consent?
Under the principle of "informed consent," your medical
care must be explained so you can understand it and can make informed
decisions. Upon admission to the hospital for a procedure, you will be asked to
sign an informed consent verifying that you understand and agree to the
procedures and/or treatment that is planned for you.
It is important to let your physician and loved ones know your
wishes for treatment should you ever be near death and unable to express them.
Most health facilities assume you want all available medical treatment,
including life-sustaining care, unless you direct otherwise.
Learn about some of your options.
How do I incorporate organ and tissue donation into my advance care plans?
Organ and tissue donation are not included in the WSMA advance
directives. You may choose to add an amendment to your health directive stating
that you would like to donate your organs. However, consider that in some
cases, it might be necessary to use machines to keep the heart beating until
medical staff is ready to remove the donated organs. If you have a health
directive stating the wishes of withholding treatment, medical staff will honor
those documents above donation of organs unless stated otherwise. If you would
like your desire to donate organs to supersede refusal of treatment wishes
described in your health directive, consider the following amendment:
“Let it be known that I expressly desire any medical procedures,
including those that are life-prolonging, that shall be necessary in order to
make organ or tissue procurement more effective, unless the person named as
health care agent considers these procedures too burdensome for me.”
Health Care Directive and Durable Power of Attorney for Healthcare(PDF)
Conversation Starter Kit
How to Choose Health Care Proxy
Information Flyer about Advance Directives and the U.S. Advance Care Plan Registry (PDF)
Health Care Directive (Spanish-PDF)
U.S. Advance Care Planning Registration Agreement (PDF)
Being Prepared in the Time of COVID-19 (PDF)
Advanced Care Planning Definitions
Advanced Care Planning Definitions - Spanish
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Resources
Washington
State Medical Association Access Washington State advance
directive forms and other useful information.
The Conversation Project Find tools to
help you start an advance care planning conversation with your loved ones.
Honoring Choices PNW Explore
various tools, find notaries, and other resources for advance care planning.
Prepare for Your Care Engage
in a step by step program with video stories to help you talk with your family,
doctors and fill out your documents.
End of Life Washington Learn
more about Advance Care Planning and explore other tools and resources.
U.S.Advance Care Plan Registry Store your advance care planning
documents in a national database.
Other online document storage options: Store
your WSMA advance directives in these online tools that can be accessed through
the internet.
My
Directives This
online advance care planning digital directive allows you to store your values,
treatment goals, health care agents, share your plan with your agents, and much
more, all from an online database. There is also an application for your phone,
MyDirectives MOBILE™ that allows you to sign and update your plan with the touch
of your hand.
Cake This online advance
care planning digital directive allows you to store your values, treatment
goals, health care agents, share your plan with your agents, and much more, all
from an online database. It also includes estate, legacy and financial
planning. This online site can be accessed through your mobile internet.
Events
Search for Advance Care Planning under ALL
Doc Talk, Classes and Events.
Priyanka
Choudhury
Advanced
Care Planning Coordinator
Priyanka_choudhury@valleymed.org
ph: 425.690.3186
fax: 425.690.9045
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