What follows is the first part of a publication from the NIH and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.  Click HERE to go to their website where you can read the complete article and/or download a PDF version of the article.

• What is Advance Care Planning?
• Decisions That Could Come Up Near Death
• Getting Started
• Making Your Wishes Known
• Selecting Your Healthcare Proxy
• Making It Official
• After You Set Up Your Advance Directive
• Still Not Sure?
• Looking Toward the Future
• For More Information

More than one out of four older Americans face questions about medical treatment near the end of life but are not capable of making those decisions. This tip sheet will discuss some questions you can think about now and describe ways to share your wishes with others. Write them down or at least talk about them with someone who would make the decisions for you. Knowing how you would decide might take some of the burden off family and friends.