The Advanced Care Planning Guide involves two sections to help individuals through the process- the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and the Living Will.

The Durable Power of Attorney section allows individuals to identify another person to act as their healthcare agent, making medical decisions for them should they become incapacitated. The document has an area for special instructions, such as which treatments doctors should provide and for how long.

The Living Will section instructs a physician not to provide life-sustaining treatment, if the individual is near death or permanently unconscious, without the hope of recovery. If individuals do not want medically administered nutrition or hydration, New Hampshire law requires that you say so in your document.

In the event that your heart stops beating and you stop breathing, the health care provider will normally perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) to try to restart your breathing and heartbeat. However, if you are near death, you may decide that you do not want CPR performed. In this case, you may ask for a DNR order to be written. The differences between a DNR and an advance directive include: an advance directive is not a medical order; while a DNR order is a medical order; a DNR order applies only if your heart stops beating and you stop breathing, while an advanced directive deals with many other medical issues and decisions. You may want to include your wishes about DNR orders in your advance directive, in the event that you are not able to make your preference known in the future.

The Advanced Care Planning Guide is available from the patient and family services department at Concord Hospital. You can also download the Advanced Care Planning Guide through the Foundation for Healthy Communities Web site.

Contact

(603) 227-7000 ext. 3013.