Advance Care Planning

A Guide For Patients and Families

What is Advance Care Planning?

Advance Care Planning is: A process of

planning for future medical care in case you are unable to make your own decisions.

What is Advance Care Planning?

Advance Care Planning is: A continual process and not merely

a document or isolated event. May include the use of Advance

Directives (legal documents that state an individual’s preferences in care for life-threatening illness).

Types of Advance Directives

Health Care Proxy Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) Living Will Durable Power of Attorney

(DPOA) Medical Orders for Life-

Sustaining Treatment (MOLST)

What is a Health Care Proxy?

A document in which a patient with decision-making capacity appoints a health care agent to make decisions about medical care in the event that the patient subsequently becomes incapable of making those decisions.

What is a DNR?

A Do Not Resuscitate document is a legal document that states resuscitation should not be attempted if a person suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest.

What is a Living Will?

A document in which a person with decision-making capacity expresses his/her wishes to receive or not receive certain life-sustaining treatments in the event that he/she becomes terminally ill and loses decision-making capacity in the future.

What is a Durable Power of

Attorney? A legal document empowering a

designated person to act on another person's behalf.

DPOAs allow an individual to transfer medical decision-making authority to another in the event that the individual loses the ability to make these decisions.

What is a MOLST?

A Medical Orders For Life-Sustaining Treatment form is used for those who are seriously ill or at the end of their lives. It is used to translate patient/resident goals and preferences into medical orders.

Benefits of Advance Care Planning

Advance Care Planning: Assists you in preparing for a

sudden unexpected illness. Allows you to maintain control over

how you are treated. Ensures that you experience the

type of care that you desire.

For more information about Advanced Care

Planning,contact

St. Peter’s Mission Services

at 525-6757 or visitwww.compassionandsupport.co

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