BY MARK J. CRAWFORD
Telegraph Editor
STARKE — A powerful message was delivered with approval of a county proclamation recognizing April as National Health Care Decisions Month.
Every year, April 16 is set aside “to inspire educate and empower the public and providers about the importance of advanced care planning, to raise public awareness of the need to plan for health care decisions, especially those related to end-of-life care and medical decision making when patients are unable to speak for themselves.”
Confusion and a lack of knowledge about advanced directives mean that few people make plans for health care decisions in the event of a crisis or end-of-life situation.
If you are ever unable to make these decisions for yourself, an advanced health care directive can speak for you instead of placing those decisions on family members or loved ones who may not be prepared or even agree on what action to take.
An advance health care directive can provide instructions about:
—the use of dialysis or breathing machines.
—whether you want to be resuscitated if your breathing or heartbeat stops.
—feeding via tube.
—organ or tissue donation.
Community Hospice and Palliative Care of North Central Florida and other organizations endorse the event, which encourages hospitals, physicians, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, etc., to become involved in public education about advanced health care directives.
Wendy Crews, a community relations representative for hospice, said, “We have over 1,600 patients on our service daily and, unfortunately, we see so many family members struggling with ‘Would mom want that?’ or ‘Would dad want that?’ … When you don’t have those conversations in advance, then people are left behind who live with those decisions to wonder for the rest of their life, ‘Did I do the right thing?’ I just can tell you it’s a big favor that you actually do for your family.”
Bradford County Fire Rescue Director Allen Parrish said, “We often face that dilemma on scene,” explaining family members may disagree how to care for a victim. That means first responders must question what to do.
“We see it quite a bit with the last two years with COVID, as far as putting a tube in to breathe for you or not,” he said.
You can visit www.communityhospice.com for more information about advance care planning. Once you plans are made, you can make sure Bradford County Fire Rescue knows by participating in the Vial of Life program.
“This program is offered to all citizens of Bradford County. In emergency situations, time is crucial. In some cases, patients are unable to communicate with the responders or remember important medical information. The Vial of Life acts as a communication tool and allows first responders to access your important medical information quickly and easily. Within the Vial of Life is information containing your medications, medical history, allergies, emergency contact information and more.”
You can also include copies of a living will and do not resuscitate order in the Vial of Life if you choose.
You can obtain one by calling 904-966-6911 or printing the PDF form available at www.bradfordcountyfl.gov/vialoflife. Then you let Bradford County Fire Rescue know when you have completed the form and attach it to your refrigerator in a bag or plastic sleeve where first responders will know where to look for it in an emergency.
