April Open House: Advance Health Directives

In recognition of National Healthcare Decisions Day 2015, you are invited to an informal OPEN HOUSE at our office in Orange Park on Friday, April 17, 2015, from 9:00 a.m. through 2 p.m.

This important event is to ensure that you have current, legally effective Advance Health Directives, which include a Living Will and Healthcare Surrogate.  We will also provide you with a HIPAA (i.e., General Medical) Release, to supplement your advance directive planning.

Florida law provides for the designation of a surrogate under two of its most widely used advance health care directives, the Living Will and the Designation of Health Care Surrogate. We strongly advise the use of a current, up to date, Living Will and Designation of Health Care Surrogate, naming your select, trustworthy, and strong minded health care decision making designee(s) to act for you if needed, for many reasons.

First, by so doing, you have inexpensively appointed a recognized representative for you to help navigate the complicated and often frustrating health care services environment, at a time when you are not able to do so yourself. In many instances, no further time consuming, expensive legal incapacity and guardianship proceedings then will be necessary.

Second, you help your health care professionals help you by giving them a clearly designated agent to speak directly to about your own personal health care treatment choices, wishes, and instructions.

Third, you clearly have established the legal standing of your designated surrogate to seek court action, if necessary, to enforce or defend your expressed written health care preferences and instructions.

Fourth, designating the surrogate in writing and in advance gives you a golden opportunity to clearly discuss your preferences, wishes, and instructions with your designee prior to the time of crisis.

Fifth, your appointed surrogate can be authorized to sign and/or request a statutory “DNR” order from your physician, which will be respected by EMR personnel and your health care providers if appropriate to your case.

Sixth, if you wish, you may expressly add mental health treatment authorization to your Health Care Surrogate’s specific authority, which may avoid court intervention in the event you should need mental health treatment in the future.

These Advance Health Directives signed in our office cost only $100.00 per individual, or $150.00 for a married couple.  In addition, we also include a HIPAA Release to further ensure that your next of kin are able to easily interact with your health care providers about your privacy protected individually identifiable health information at the time health care services are being provided for you in the future.  That can go a long way towards providing comfort and shared knowledge to those who love you and who really care, while you are under active treatment for a serious or even a final illness or traumatic injury.

If you want to update or create your Advance Health Directives, please contact us by phone at 904-264-8800, or by email to renee@floridaelder.com, to place your order now. We plan on signing Advance Health Directives for orders taken in advance on April 17. If it is more convenient for you to arrange a signing on your own, we will deliver the documents to be signed to you, with careful instructions, which you can follow to sign them outside of our office.

Please respond and create or update your existing planning with current, legally effective Advance Health Directives tailored to your own planning goals. Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you at our office in Orange Park on April 17 from 9:00 a.m. through 2 p.m.