Resources

At Providence, we support an individual’s right to choose the care they want. Our Ethical Directives of Catholic Healthcare call on us to respect the dignity of each person.

Advance Care Planning (ACP) encourages patients and families to talk about and document their care preferences in advance to ensure that the care they receive is aligned with their goals, values, and priorities. We have provided resources for you and your family to help you have the conversation and document your wishes in writing.

An advance health care directive lets your physician, family and friends know your healthcare preferences, including the types of special treatment you want or do not want at the end of life, your desire for diagnostic testing, surgical procedures, cardiopulmonary resuscitation and organ donation. By considering your options early, you can ensure the quality of life that is important to you and avoid having your family make critical medical care decisions for you under stress or in emotional turmoil.

How to get started

The best time to start the conversation about the kind of care you’d want if you were in an accident or became seriously ill is now. The Institute for Human Caring is dedicated to engaging the community and health care providers in conversations about what matters and ensuring that our patient’s care preferences are honored. We can help you think about the care you’d want, talk to your loved ones about your decisions, choose your advocate and complete an advance directive.

Start the Conversation with these Four Steps:

• THINK - about your values, goals and care preferences if you were to become seriously ill
• TALK - to your loved ones about these care preferences
• CHOOSE - someone to speak for you if you can’t speak for yourself
• COMPLETE - an Advance Directive

Advance directive tool kit

Learn how to make decisions about the care you would want to receive if you become unable to speak for yourself. Visit Institute For Human Caring to access Providence Advance Directive tool kit in multiple languages to assist you and your family in having the conversation, selecting a health care decision maker and completing an Advance Directive.

Five Wishes

Five Wishes serves as an Advance Directive and is a legally-valid tool available for your use. Five Wishes helps ensure your wishes, and those of your loved ones, will be respected-even if you cannot speak for yourself.

• Five Wishes
• Aging with Dignity

POLST (Physician Order for Life Sustaining Treatment)

Physician Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (POLST) is a physician order that outlines a plan of care reflecting a patient’s wishes concerning care at life’s end. The POLST form is voluntary and is intended to:

• Help you and your patient discuss and develop plans to reflect his or her wishes
• Assist physicians, nurses, healthcare facilities, and emergency personnel in honoring a person’s wishes for life-sustaining treatment
• For more information, please visit POLST for health care providers