What is a living will and who should have one?<\/p>\n
Discussions about end-of-life and critical-care issues are never easy and often get put aside because no family members are ever at that stage, but planning ahead can prevent confusion, conflict and unnecessary suffering during times of worry and grief.<\/p>\n
Knowing a loved one\u2019s wishes before an illness or accident ensures that family members won\u2019t have to make difficult choices on the loved one\u2019s behalf during a crisis.<\/p>\n
Livings Wills Are Legal Instructions<\/strong> Advance directives aren’t just for older adults. Because unexpected critical-care and end-of-life situations can occur at any age, it\u2019s crucial for all adults to prepare these documents.<\/p>\n Studies show that older adults feel especially relieved to know that their specific and personal end-of-life preferences are documented and will be carried out, therefore freeing their families from making these decisions.<\/p>\n Living Wills and Power of Attorney<\/strong> Which Medical Treatments Should You Think About?<\/strong> These are some of the primary issues to consider:<\/p>\n What is a POLST?<\/strong> What is a living will and who should have one?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":247,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-246","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-general-information"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/247"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ciminocare.com\/citrus-heights-terrace\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
Also called advance directives or healthcare directives, living wills are written, legal instructions detailing a person\u2019s preferences for medical care if he or she is unable to make decisions. Advance directives guide healthcare choices for medical professionals and caregivers if a person is terminally ill, critically injured, in a coma, in the late stages of dementia or near the end of life.<\/p>\n
A living will typically works together with a medical power of attorney (POA). Some states combine the two into one document. The medical POA enables a person to select somebody (a spouse, other family member, or a trusted friend) to make medical decisions on his or her behalf. These two documents can allow you to control the types of medical treatment you\u2019ve chosen, and who will make sure your wishes are honored.<\/p>\n
The living will typically spells out medical treatments you would or would not want to be used to keep you alive, as well as other options such as pain management and organ donation. Talk to your doctor, healthcare agent (the person with POA), your family, and friends about your personal wishes. Would you want to extend treatment in any situation? Would you want treatment only if recovery is possible?<\/p>\n\n
POLST stands for Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment. It is a form that summarizes a person\u2019s wishes for critical treatments in the form of medical orders signed by a physician. The form is intended as a complement to advance directives not to replace it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"