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Decisions day

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Chris Bredbenner

Published: April 16, 2009

Every day you make hundreds of decisions. What to wear? What TV show to watch? What to eat for lunch? But what about those hard decisions — like, what kind of care do you want in a medical crisis, and who will speak for you if you are unable?

On April 16, Good Shepherd Hospice will celebrate the second annual National Healthcare Decisions Day, a day set aside to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making.

Fewer than 30 percent of Americans have signed their advance directives. I urge all adults to fill out living wills and advance care surrogate forms to guarantee that their healthcare wishes will be honored. People can pick up these forms at the Good Shepherd Hospice Community Resource Center in Sebring or find them on the home page of our Web site www.goodshepherdhospice.org.

I want to encourage readers to take a few minutes on April 16 to discuss your advance care decisions with your loved ones, and then fill out your advance directives. Let everyone close to you know your wishes when you are healthy so that they are not unprepared in a medical emergency.

Chris Bredbenner
Executive Director
Good Shepherd Hospice
Sebring

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