Letter to the Editor: April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day

April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day, and LifePath Hospice encourages everyone to take a few minutes to discuss their care decisions with their loved ones.

Take a moment to think about this serious question. Who will speak for you if you suffer a critical medical issue and can’t speak for yourself? What type of medical care do you want – or don’t want?

Monday, April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day – a day set aside to remind area residents to take time to fill out their advanced directives – a living will and a healthcare surrogate form. Take a few minutes to fill out the forms and then let your loved ones know your wishes.

LifePath Hospice wants to make it easy for you to complete your advance directives. Throughout the month of April, you can stop by the LifePath Hospice office at 3010 West Azeele in Tampa to pick up a free packet of information that includes the necessary forms and instructions.

Packets are available in English and Spanish. You can also visit the LifePath Hospice web site at www.chaptershealth.org for answers to some frequently asked questions about advanced directives, along with English and Spanish PDFs of the forms.

Sincerely,

Roxanne Riley, BSN, MPA, MDiv