Health Care Power of Attorney

State of Illinois Health Care Power of Attorney form (PDF format)

Health care in the United States is marked by extraordinary change that can lead to difficulties making decisions when you are facing complex medical challenges.

As people of faith, we believe that life is a precious gift from God and we have a duty to be good stewards of that gift. With that said, it’s not always easy to know the best course of action to take in complex medical situations. 

As Catholics, we know that our faith informs the decisions we make.  We have an opportunity to make sure that the preferences we hold related to our medical care and informed by our faith are known to our care providers even if we are unable to share that information because of an unexpected health crisis.  That opportunity is the completion of a health care power of attorney document.

A health care power of attorney document only pertains to your medical care. It has nothing to do with your assets – your estate or your bank accounts.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has published a document -the Ethical and Religious Directives for Catholic Health Care Services – that provides guidance for decision making in complex medical situations based on the gospel of Jesus Christ.
 
One of the statements in that document that can help us to be good stewards of the gift of life is that as we have a moral obligation to preserve our life using interventions that offer a reasonable hope of benefit, we also have the right and ability to reject life prolonging measures that are not sufficiently beneficial or are excessively burdensome.
   
Completing a health care power of attorney document enables you to accomplish some really important things:

• It makes your medical care preferences known to your loved ones and the healthcare professionals who are caring for you
• It allows you to identify an individual you trust, with whom you have shared your medical care preferences, and who understands how your faith contributes to your decisions, to speak on your behalf if a situation arises in which you are unable to speak for yourself. That person is known as your agent.

This document clearly identifies who you are authorizing to speak on your behalf to make medical decisions if you are not able.

For example, let’s say you are in a car accident and have a head injury and you can’t speak clearly or make a medical decision. Who would you want to make that medical decision for you? Are you 100% sure that person knows what your preferences for medical care are?
   
By establishing a Healthcare Power of Attorney, you can be 100% certain, can make sure the person you have authorized to speak for you is the person with whom the doctors and nurses turn for guidance, and you maintain an active role in the decisions that are being made.

A Healthcare Power of Attorney document is easy to access, can be completed in the comfort of your home, does not require an attorney, and does not need to be notarized.  
 
Have a conversation with your loved ones about what is important to you regarding your medical care, identify you healthcare agent - the one who knows your preferences and can speak for you if and when needed; and have the document witnessed by another adult. It is important to note that the agent cannot witness the document.
 
This relieves your family of the burden of making decisions for you in an emergency which sometimes leads to unnecessary family conflict.

It helps the healthcare team know what is important to you, what are your values and your morals related to healthcare even if you are unable to speak for yourself at that moment in time.  

For more information about this topic, feel free to call the Pastoral Care Department at Little Company of Mary Hospital at 708-229-5480 or visit us online at www.lcmh.org/Yourchoice.