Advance Directive “Tip Sheet” to Share With Your LTC Residents

Advance directives are invaluable. These documents help ensure that older adults get the medical and palliative care they want, even when they’re unable to communicate their wishes. Despite this, only an estimated 15% to 25% of adults prepare advance directives, and many wait until they’re seriously ill to do so. At that point, of course, they may lack sufficient opportunity to consult their loved ones and healthcare providers while drafting a directive.¹

Surveys have found that most patients would rather discuss advance directives with their healthcare providers while still well—and that they’d prefer that their healthcare providers initiate these discussions.¹ We at the American Geriatrics Society hope that you will initiate such conversations with your residents. To help them, and other older adults, understand the ins and outs of advance care planning, the Society’s Foundation for Health in Aging recently published an easy-to-read “tip sheet” offering advice on the subject. The tip sheet appears on page 15 in this issue of the Journal and is also posted on the FHA website at healthinaging.org/public_education/advance_directiveV1.pdf. It can be printed and distributed at no cost.

Written by AGS members with expertise in advance care planning, the tip sheet explains what an advance directive is and why it’s important. It notes that the ideal advance directive includes both a living will and a durable power of attorney for healthcare, and describes each of these. It also points out that laws governing advance directives vary from state to state and advises those drafting directives to visit the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization website, at www.nhpco.org, where they can find free, printable, state-specific advance directive forms.

The tip sheet reassures older adults that they can revise their advance directives at any time, and that healthcare providers will only rely on such a document for guidance if they are unable to communicate. “As long as you and your healthcare provider agree that you are able to make decisions about your treatment yourself, you will be able to do so,” it notes. The tip sheet concludes with easy-tofollow advice—on discussing the matter with loved ones, ensuring that relevant parties have copies of the document, and revising it as needed—to make the process as simple and straightforward as possible.

In addition to encouraging your residents to prepare advance directives (if they haven’t done so already), we hope you’ll share this latest FHA tip sheet with them.

The FHA’s series of easily understandable health and wellness tip sheets for older adults, at healthinaging.org/public_education/latest_tip_sheets.php, covers a wide range of issues. These include immunization for older adults, emergency preparedness for older people, avoiding overmedication, maintaining cognitive vitality, and other subjects of importance to older people, their caregivers, and loved ones.