Portsmouth Regional Hospital and Derry's Parkland Medical Center Help Build Awareness
The National Healthcare Decisions Day Initiative is a collaborative effort of national, state and community organizations committed to ensuring that all adults with decision making capacity have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions. The objectives are to provide much needed information to the public, reduce the number of tragedies that occur when a person's wishes are unknown, and improve the ability of healthcare facilities and providers to offer informed and thoughtful guidance about advance healthcare planning.
Portsmouth Regional Hospital, Derry's Parkland Medical Center and over 1,000 other national, state and community organizations are proud to participate in NHDD which this year will be held on April 16. A key theme is "Leading by Example." Its goal, to encourage all employees and members of the hospitals' medical staffs to complete their own advance directive so they may be better equipped to answer questions and assist patients in completing their advance directives.
"As a result of National Healthcare Decisions Day, many more people can be expected to have thoughtful conversations about their healthcare decisions and complete reliable advance directives to make their wishes known," said Nancy E. Notis, Associate Director of Marketing and Public Affairs for HCA's New Hampshire Market. "Fewer families and healthcare providers will have to struggle with making difficult healthcare decisions in the absence of guidance from the patient. Healthcare providers and facilities will be better equipped to address advance healthcare planning issues before a crisis and be better able to honor patient wishes when the time comes to do so. Please use April 16, to - Have the Talk' with a loved one."
For more information, resources, and ideas, including free advance directive forms, or to share this event with family or friends, visit www.nhdd.org or www.facebook.com/nationalhealthcaredecisionday