Advance Directives
At Mercy Hospital, we want our patients to understand their rights to make treatment decisions. The hospital has formal policies to ensure that your wishes about treatment will be followed. You have the right to participate in decisions about your medical care. If you can't make decisions because you are too sick, your doctor will ask your closest relative or friend to help decide what is best for you. Most of the time, that works. But sometimes everyone doesn't agree about what to do. That is why it is helpful if you say in advance what you want to happen if you can't speak for yourself. The hospital also has a bioethics committee that can help if any questions arise about your treatment wishes.
There are several kinds of "advance directives" that you can use to say what you want and who you want to speak for you. Since July 1, 2000, there is a new advance directive in California called the Advance Healthcare Directive. On this form, you have the right to give instructions about your own health care. You also have the right to name someone to make health decisions for you when you can't. This form lets you do either or both of these things.
Another type of advance directive is an Interim Directive. This is good for ONE hospitalization ONLY. You may direct your treatment and name a decision maker who knows your wishes, in case there would be a time during your hospitalization that you were too sick to speak for yourself.
Both of these documents are available in our hospital. The Advance Healthcare Directive is available in both English and Spanish. Ask your nurse for a copy. Ask the nurse to contact a chaplain if you want more information about these documents.
