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In our initial meetings with clients we ask if they have chosen their Health Care Representative, also known as their Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney for Health Care.  Approximately half of the individuals that we meet have not done so, which is not surprising. 

In a national survey in 2013, 90% of Americans surveyed said that they believe it is important to talk to their family about their end of life wishes.  The survey found that only 27% of the same group had done so. 

A Health Care Proxy is the person who will speak for you if you are unable to do so yourself.  They don’t have to be appointed legally, although in some states they require two witnesses on the form to appoint a Health Care Representative.  Your advanced directive not only appoints your Health Care Representative but also sets forth a list of your wishes if you are unable to do so. 

Some questions to consider if you haven’t appointed someone includes:

• Is this person able to make decisions for you if the decision they would make for themselves is different than what you would be asking them to make on your behalf?
• Will this person become so emotionally distraught that making a decision on your behalf will become too difficult?
• Is this person able to ask difficult questions and advocate for you in the midst of intense situations such as emergency rooms and/or intensive care hospital units especially when authority figures such as healthcare providers are recommending a different course of action then you have directed them to take on your behalf?

If you have appointed someone to be your Health Care Proxy, congratulations to you!  Do make sure that you’ve communicated your wishes to the individual you’ve appointed, to your family (sometimes they aren’t one in the same) and to your healthcare providers.  Your primary care provider would like a copy of this paperwork in their records for safekeeping. 

A few other details to remember: 

• Your health care representative must be at least 18 years old (19 years in Alabama and Nebraska)
• They can be a family member such as husband, wife, partner, son or daughter or a trusted friend, neighbor or member of your church
• It is recommended that anyone 18 years of age or older should appoint a Health Care Proxy
• People are living beyond what our parents and their parents lived so choosing someone younger than you is helpful but not essential

For more resources and state specific advanced directive forms go to: www.caringinfo.org. 

If you are someone’s Health Care Directive, the main question to remember is this: What would your loved one want?

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Written by Joyce Sjoberg, founder and owner of Aging Advisors PDX. Joyce is an Aging Life Care Manager with over 30 years of nursing experience caring for older adults and individuals with disabilities. She has experience in a variety of settings including; acute hospital care, home health and hospice, assisted living, and teaching and training caregivers. Joyce is interested in working with clients and/or families who need someone to manage the care of a loved one living at home or in a facility. She focuses on collaborating with other health care providers, caregivers who provide shift care in their home, and family members. [email protected] (503) 953-5827.