OGDENSBURG -- Claxton-Hepburn Medical Center wants people to devise an “advance directive” if they haven’t already done so.

An advance directive is a legal document that tells healthcare providers who it is that you wish to make medical decisions for you and what treatments you would want or not want, if you are ever not able to tell care providers what you would want in a medical emergency or life-limiting illness.

Advance directives are written instructions about your future medical care. They do not go into effect until you are no longer able to make decisions. Adults can benefit from thinking about what their healthcare choices would be if they were unable to speak for themselves.

Advance directives come in two main forms:

A "healthcare proxy" designates a person as your voice for your healthcare decisions if you cannot speak for yourself. This person will make medical decisions based on the wishes identified in your advance directive. In states that recognize these documents, families and healthcare providers cannot override your living will or your agent’s decision. It is a good idea to discuss your wishes with your friends, family members, and your doctor, now, while you still can.

Your healthcare agent has to be over the age of 18. It can be a family member, loved one, or close friend, or anyone you wish to designate. This should be someone who you trust, knows you well, will represent and honor your wishes.

A "living will" or “healthcare treatment directive” documents what kinds of medical treatments you would or would not want at the end of life. It spells out the measures you do and do not wish to have taken to extend your life when you are clearly dying. You may decide whether or not you would want breathing machines, feeding tubes, oxygen, IV fluids, or medicines to be used. A living will needs to be signed in front of a witness. A witness cannot be a relative, creditors and heirs to your estate, or your doctor. It is important that a living will cover decisions about your healthcare only when you have a terminal illness. It is better to prepare a living will when you are healthy, not when you have been ill or in the hospital.

A “Do Not Resuscitate” document, sometimes also called a living will, is a binding legal document that states resuscitation should not be attempted if a person suffers cardiac or respiratory arrest. In the U.S., cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) will not be performed if a valid written "DNR" order is present.

The Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) program is a New York State initiative that facilitates end-of-life medical decision-making. One goal of the MOLST program is to ensure that decisions to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining treatment are made in accordance with the patient’s wishes, or, if the patient’s wishes are not reasonably known and cannot with reasonable diligence be ascertained, in accordance with the patient’s best interests. Information about the MOLST Program can be found on the website www.compassionandsupport.org.

If you plan on moving to another state make sure you update your advance directive, as some states do not recognize living wills that have been drafted in other states.

Your advance directive does not expire and can be updated as needed. It is important for your family members to know your wishes in case of an emergency. Also, you should take a copy of your advance directive to the hospital whenever you are admitted so that it can become a permanent part of your medical record.