PATIENTS & VISITORS

Advance Directives

A Living Will is a document that describes the kind of life sustaining care you want if you become terminally ill and unable to make your own decisions. Through a living will you can direct the withholding or withdrawal of any procedure or treatment that will only serve to prolong the dying process. The law allows a doctor to continue to give pain medication and perform procedures to make a patient more comfortable, even though all other treatment may have been withdrawn.

A Health Care Power of Attorney for medicine allows you to designate another person to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to communicate your wishes. There are no restrictions on the number of instructions you can give to your designee in this document.

A Mental Health Care Power of Attorney allows a patient to designate another adult to make his or her mental health care decisions if he or she is “incapable". To be considered incapable, a licensed psychologist or psychiatrist must feel the patient is unable to give an informed consent. To designate a Mental Power of Attorney, it must be in writing, agreed to by a patient while they are able to give informed consent, and notarized or witnessed. The person given Power of Attorney can only make decisions consistent with the patient’s wishes identified in writing. The document also allows psychiatric treatment be provided to the patient against his or her wishes. A patient can revoke his or her mental POA – even if he or she is considered “incapable” – unless there is an express provision in the document to the contrary.

Forms for the Living Will, Durable Power of Attorney and Mental Health Care Power of Attorney will be given to you during the registration process. If you have any questions, or need assistance filling out these forms, please contact Family Services:

Pre-Hospitalization Medical Directive is a document that designates whether you want emergency treatment outside the hospital by paramedics prior to admission. You can refuse CPR, assisted ventilation, emergency drugs, intubation or defibrillation.

Organ and Tissue Donation
Arizona hospitals are required to provide information regarding organ and tissue donation in the event a patient dies. It is never easy to discuss these things at the time of death, especially when family members have no idea what the patient might have wanted. We suggest you discuss these issues with your family and make your wishes known. Please ask a nurse if you would like more information on organ and tissue donation.

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