Hospice & Palliative CareCenter, along with other national, state and community organizations, is leading an effort to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making - an effort that has culminated in the formal designation of April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).
As a participating organization, Hospice & Palliative CareCenter is providing information and tools for the public to talk about their wishes with family, friends and healthcare providers, and execute written advance directives - the NC Healthcare Power of Attorney and the Living Will.
Specifically, on April 16, at 1:30 p.m., Hospice & Palliative CareCenter is welcoming the public to attend a free information session on this topic at Hospice & Palliative CareCenter's A. Tab Williams Education & Counseling Center (Building 121), 101 Hospice Lane, in Winston-Salem. Staff will go over the N.C. documents and talk about important issues to consider. Everyone will receive a free copy of the N.C. Living Will and Health Power of Attorney. For those who would like to complete these documents, notaries will be present. Call 336-331-1309 to reserve your spot, or for more information.
Hospice & Palliative CareCenter will partner with BestHealth at Hanes Mall in offering a program on Advance Directives on Friday, April 20, 1:00 - 3:00 p.m. Call 336-713-2378 to reserve your spot, or for more information.
"As a result of National Healthcare Decisions Day, many more people in our community can be expected to have thoughtful conversations about their healthcare decisions and complete reliable advance directives to make their wishes known," said Dee Leahman, Director of the Community Partnership for End of Life Care, a program of HPCC.
"Fewer families and healthcare providers will have to struggle with making difficult healthcare decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient, and healthcare providers and facilities will be better equipped to address advance healthcare planning issues before a crisis and be better able to honor patient wishes when the time comes to do so."