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Honoring Your Wishes with Dignity

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Advance Care Planning

Know your options and document your decisions. 

Hospice is here to help educate you and your family about advance directives and advance care planning. We can also help you take the right steps toward having difficult conversations with your loved ones and making your health care wishes known.

A Health Care Proxy will ensure your wishes are honored if and when you are unable to make decisions for yourself. Your decision to accept or reject medical treatment, including life-sustaining procedures, ultimately depends upon your personal wishes, values, and beliefs. Using an Advance Directive form, such as a Health Care Proxy, will help your family and friends understand your wishes and will give both you and them peace of mind.

Everyone over the age of 18 needs to appoint a Health Care Proxy* for these two situations: 

1. Temporary inability to make health care decisions can happen no matter what your age. That’s because unexpected events can happen at any time. And, often during these events  a health care decision needs to be made, even if you’re not able to voice those decisions for yourself. (For example, when having an outpatient surgical procedure and are under general anesthesia.) If you have a Health Care Proxy, decisions will be made according to your wishes — even if you are temporarily unable to make your own requests. Once you become conscious, your Health Care Proxy no longer has any authority to act.

2. Permanent inability to make healthcare decisions. This would arise if you were comatose from a terminal illness, in a persistent vegetative state, suffered from an illness that left you unable to communicate or, if elderly, suffered from senile dementia or Alzheimer's disease.

If you don't have a Health Care Proxy, all appropriate medical treatments would be provided to you. If you’ve appointed a Health Care Proxy, that person would represent your voice and act on your behalf in making healthcare decisions for you according to your pre-determined wishes or best interests.

*The New York Health Care Proxy Law encourages you to appoint someone you trust — such as a family member or close friend — to make health care decisions for you if you lose the ability to make decisions yourself. Appointing a health care agent and discussing your wishes with them helps ensure that health care providers follow your requests.

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New York Health Care Proxy 

 Sharing Your Wishes Guide 

We’re here to help you communicate your wishes.

Your wishes should be written down in an Advance Directive so that others know your decisions. That’s why we encourage documentation of your hospice and palliative care health care plan according to your wishes. Our team of experts can help facilitate and adhere to your end-of-life requests by using an Advance Directive. Two Advance Directive forms commonly used in New York State include the New York Health Care Proxy and Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST). MOLST is intended for patients with serious health conditions who:

  • Want to avoid receiving any or all life-sustaining treatment
  • Reside in a long-term care facility or require long-term care services 
  • Might die within the next year 

Designate a Health Care Proxy Today!

Ask your doctor for your MOLST form, inform your chosen Health Care Proxy of your decision, and discuss your wishes today. We’re here with answers if you have any questions about Advance Care Planning, or if you would like a representative to speak to your group or organization.

Become an advocate for Advance Care Planning 

National Healthcare Decisions Day is April 16.

Learn more 

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  • 'Hospice in its entirety is a wonderful organization. Once my dad had stopped chemo, he had hospice coming to the house for 3 months or so. All of the people, from nurses to social workers to the chaplain, were so caring of him and the family. Once things got too bad, he was admitted to the hospice facility and everyone there was just as wonderful. They were caring and respectful of my dad and of our family. I want to thank all involved with them for making the end a little easier."
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  • “Imagine the miracle of someone saying to you, ‘Don’t worry about anything. If you need a doctor’s appointment or something from the grocery store, call me and I will have a volunteer pick it up for you. If you need somebody to help you with anything, call me. We are here for you.’ Such comforting words from my Social Worker.”
    – Shirley Rosenthal, Hospice & Palliative Care Buffalo Patient
  • “I really didn’t think anyone could help me until Home Connections became involved. Dr. Kerr visited me and gave his undivided attention, focusing on my symptoms and less on my disease. I finally feel like I will get back to normal one day. When the nurse from Home Connections came in, I felt so much relief that she was able to help communicate with all of my doctors. It’s very stressful to have to do all of that on my own. I cannot thank Home Connections enough for working to get me a new mattress. I can't believe someone would do this for me!”
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