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Upon admitting, if you are 18 years or older, you will be asked if you have completed an Advance Medical Directive. Advance Medical Directive is a term that refers to your preferences about medical treatments if you are seriously ill or have been seriously injured. An advance medical directive is a written plan that tells your family, friends and caregivers what health care treatments you would or would not want if you could not speak or respond for yourself.
Advance Medical Directives come in a variety of forms and each state has its own way of regulating and recognizing them. If you prepared a directive in another state, it is legal provided it meets the requirements of the originating state’s laws or Wisconsin’s requirements. Two forms are Power of Attorney for Health Care and Living Will. Some states recognize both of these forms and some recognize only one of them.
The State of Wisconsin recognizes the Power of Attorney for Health Care. This form designates one or two “agents” (people who decide on health care treatments for you only if you are unable) and references some preferences for specific treatments such as feeding tubes and nursing home care.
Social services staff at Hudson Hospital & Clinics can provide you with a packet of information and forms. They are available to help you with preparing a Power of Attorney for Health Care document or further discuss Advance Medical Directives. Contact the hospital Social Services department at (715) 531-6190 or dial “0” from a hospital telephone.
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