Take Charge of Your Healthcare on National Healthcare Decisions Day -- Annapolis

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This National Healthcare Decisions Day, April 16, 2020, the Anne Arundel County Department of Aging and Disabilities and Hospice of the Chesapeake will join the national movement by kicking off the Take Charge of Your Healthcare Decisions Initiative. This campaign seeks to educate and empower Anne Arundel County residents about advance healthcare decisions: What they are, why they matter and how to document them.

In a study published in the January 2014 American Journal of Preventative Medicine, nearly three quarters of Americans said they did not have an advance directive. The top 2 reasons for not having one in place were, “my family knows my wishes,” and “I don’t know what advance directives are.”

During a health emergency, family members can be unable to think clearly to remember specifics, if specifics were even discussed in calmer times. Should you suffer a stroke or some other condition where you could not respond to questions, having a document on file that includes such decisions as whether or not you should be on a ventilator will help you to make your wishes known. It also will take the burden of making those difficult decisions on our behalf away from the people you love.

You can start the conversation by visiting one of our Take Charge of Your Healthcare events on National Healthcare Decisions Day, April 16, from noon to 3 p.m. at the Westfield Annapolis Mall and 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Arundel Mills Mall in Hanover, Maryland. Talk with professionals from the county Department of Aging and Disabilities and Hospice of the Chesapeake, founding partners of the campaign, as well as community partners, including the the Office of Anne Arundel County Executive Steuart Pittman, Anne Arundel County Fire and Emergency Medical Services, Anne Arundel County Health Department, Anne Arundel Medical Center, Leadership Anne Arundel Flagship Class of 2020, Maryland Primary Care Physicians and the University of Maryland Baltimore Washington Medical Center. They can guide you and provide resources to help you talk with your family about sharing and creating advanced directives.

At either event, you can even have a nurse practitioner review and sign off on your Medical Order of Life Sustaining Treatment, known informally as a MOLST. Advance directives and the MOLST are not the same. The MOLST form is a set of medical orders that define life-sustaining treatment that a patient wants to receive or avoid. A physician, nurse practitioner or physician’s assistant must complete or change the MOLST based on the patient’s current medical condition, prognosis, values, goals and preferences. If you live in Maryland and you do not want CPR, a MOLST form is the only document first responders and healthcare professionals will follow.

An advance directive is a legal document that has two parts. One part names a medical proxy or healthcare agent, someone you have selected who can make healthcare decisions when you are unable to make those decisions yourself. The other part is the living will, which includes the instructions for your future medical treatment, whether it is future inpatient treatment or end-of-life care. Having both an advance directive and a MOLST can help your family and medical team honor your healthcare plans.

If you don’t tell them, how will they know? Take charge of your healthcare: Understand your options, discuss your preferences, document your decisions. For details, visit www.whymolst.com.