MercyOne encourages families to have end-of-life care conversations as part of National Healthcare Decisions Day

National Healthcare Decisions Day is April 16, and MercyOne encourages everyone to take the time to discuss their end-of-life wishes with their family so they will be understood and respected by their loved ones and health care team.

When facing the death of a loved one, well-meaning family members are often unsure or disagree about which care or comfort measures should be provided to their loved one. Having these conversations now and documenting your preferences in an advance directive relieves your loved ones of difficult decisions if or when they are necessary.

Barbara, an administrative assistant in southern Iowa, didn’t want her children to make these decisions for her. “I knew I wanted to do something to benefit and help out my children,” she said. “If I could make it as seamless as possible and easy for them to know my thoughts, my wishes, my words, and what I wanted, I would do that for them.”

An advance directive is a legally binding set of instructions outlining your wishes for end-of-life care so your health care team knows your preferences if you cannot communicate. An advance directive usually has two parts:

• Durable power of attorney for health care
• Living will

A durable power of attorney for health care legally designates an individual as your health care agent who can speak on your behalf if you cannot communicate.

A living will defines your preferences for medical treatment, pain management, life support, religious preferences and more.

All MercyOne medical centers provide free assistance in completing advance directives. Trained facilitators will walk you through each process step, answer your questions, and help you complete the forms. Then, they notarize the document and file a copy in your MercyOne medical chart. To learn more about advance directives, visit https://www.mercyone.org/acp. You can also call 515-358-9154 for assistance in completing one.