Give Your Family the Gift of Advanced Directives on April 16

Care Navigator • April 14, 2023

The only certainties in life are death and taxes. National Healthcare Decisions Day, annually held on April 16 or the day after taxes, gives patients, families and providers the opportunity to discuss and document final wishes using advanced directives. Advanced directives are legal documents that include a living will, healthcare surrogate and medical instructions for care if a person is unable to speak for themselves. 

“These documents are a final act of love,” Kristi Yahn, Lexington Provider Liaison, said. “If we were getting married, we wouldn’t tell our most precious people we were getting married in three days and leave all the planning to them without guidance as to our wishes. Likewise, we shouldn’t leave our people to figure it out without guidance after our passing.” 


No matter your age, Yahn believes everyone should have a living will that states wishes for end-of-life medical care and designates a healthcare surrogate to make health care decisions if you become unable. A living will also document specific wishes around choices involving CPR, intensive care and other advanced therapies. 


Sometimes used in addition to a living will, the Five Wishes document facilitates and records conversations around specific end-of-life options with a more personal touch. This document offers a space for preferences regarding room environment, touch, music, visitors, burial options and more. 


The MOST form interprets medical decisions into medical orders based on the preferences of Kentucky patients with a progressing serious illness and is kept on file by your doctor. 


Although starting these conversations can be difficult, Yahn believes the peace and comfort they provide is truly a gift for your family. Katherine Lotzer, Clinical Manager in the Department of Medicine, couldn’t agree more. As the granddaughter of a mortician, Lotzer’s mom was comfortable with death and the conversations surrounding it. She gave Lotzer her first will when she was 11 and helped her process the thoughts, feelings and facts surrounding this each year. Although Lotzer’s mom is still healthy, mother and daughter review her end-of-life wishes annually to make sure nothing has changed.   


“This is a gift that my mother is giving to me because when I show up at her funeral, whenever that time comes, I can be the grieving daughter,” Lotzer said. “I don’t have to be the nurse or the director. I can just show up and be the daughter and if that’s not a gift, I don’t know what is.” 


If you would like assistance with creating Advance Directives, contact Bluegrass Care Navigators at 855.492.0812 or visit our website.  


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