Plan today for your medical care needs tomorrow

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release │ Jan. 17, 2023

Media Contact: Holly Ward │602-445-4327 │[email protected]

PHOENIX —The Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association (AzHHA) unveils a new, accessible menu of options to help Arizonans plan for their medical care needs. The advance care planning documents include upgraded forms to meet the specialized needs of our community including large print, braille, audio files, videos featuring sign language interpretation and Spanish language documents.

“We saw a great need for more accessible advance care planning documents during the pandemic. When loved ones fell gravely ill with COVID-19, many family members were left to figure out or guess what their loved one’s wishes were for medical care, their dependents, their animals and even possessions,” said Megan Trosko, MSN, EMBA, FNP-C, director of care improvement for AzHHA. “We hope the updated, accessible information will help demystify the process and explain the options you have available.”

Advance directives are legal documents that let others know about your wishes and how to honor them if you cannot speak for yourself. These documents include a Living Will, Medical Power of Attorney and Pre-Hospital Medical Directive.

“This is a significant milestone for my community,” said Linda Bove, certified deaf interpreter. “I had struggled to help my deaf parents prepare their medical care documentation in the past. Now, future generations have helpful videos featuring American Sign Language (ASL) interpretation with the information we need and can use to make informed decisions on our desired care.”

“The grief from a sudden and unexpected loss of a loved one should not be compounded by making medical care decisions alone,” said Trosko. “Starting a conversation about advance care planning now is an important first step for all adult family members—whether they are in their senior years or just starting out into adulthood.”

You may choose which documents you would like to complete, depending on how you want decisions to be made. All documentation is voluntary—there are no rules or laws requiring them to be completed. Once the forms are complete, they should be shared with family members, loved ones and your healthcare provider and uploaded to the documents to the Arizona Healthcare Directives Registry at https://azhdr.org/.

Visit https://www.azhha.org/tlc and go to Advance Directive Forms to begin documenting your medical care wishes.

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About the Arizona Hospital and Healthcare Association

AzHHA is the association giving Arizona hospitals a voice to collectively build better healthcare and health for Arizonans. As the champion for healthcare leadership in Arizona, AzHHA and its member hospitals explore ideas and take collaborative action at the state capitol, in hospitals and at home to attain the best healthcare outcomes for our community. Above all else, we put people and patients first through Better Care, Better Health and Lower Costs. Visit https://www.azhha.org for more information.