Advanced Directive--What is it?

On January 16, at 7:00 PM, Brooks Memorial Library will host a discussion on Advanced Directive planning with Dr. Ray Walker of Guilford and Dr. Maggie Newton.

In 2005, as a result of leadership from an Attorney General’s Task Force on End of Life Care, the statutes in Vermont relating to Advance Directives were dramatically expanded and updated to provide Vermonters with a greater voice in care they receive in critical health care situations.

Act 55 has combined elements of Vermont’s previous documents, the so-called “Living Will” or Terminal Care Document and the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care, into one comprehensive Advance Directive for Health Care. The Advance Directive workshop will examine the reasons why having an Advance Directive is important to assist patients and their loved ones in communicating personal wishes about the type and kinds of health care one wants, particularly near life’s end. New guidelines will help assure that these wishes are honored.For more information about this service, visit the Health Department website: www.healthvermont.gov/vadr.

The booklet Taking Steps: Planning for Critical Health Care Decisions (April, 2006 edition) is available through the Vermont Ethics Network. For ordering information, visit our website, www.vtethicsnetwork.org or call (802) 828-2909. Copies will be distributed at the workshop. John Campbell has been the executive director of the Vermont Ethics Network since 1996. For the previous ten years he was the executive director of the Southwestern Vermont Area Agency on Aging, serving Bennington and Rutland Counties. He lives in North Chittenden, VT.

For more information contact John Campbell at (802) 828-2909