Advanced Directive

An Advance Health Care Directive is a legal document that makes your wishes known if you are no longer able to make decisions for yourself because of illness or incapacity. An Advance Health Care Directive serves two purposes:

• allows you to designate another individual as agent to make health care decisions for you if you become incapable of making your own decisions (Power of Attorney)
• allows you to make instructions to those involved in your care if you cannot speak for yourself (Instructions for Health Care)

It’s important to know that these advance directives only go into effect when you can no longer make your own health care decisions. Your doctor will rely on you and not your advance directives as long as you are able to speak for yourself.

Advance Directive Forms

You can download and print these forms:

• Advanced Directive (English) (595.73 KB)
• Advanced Directive (Español) (232.73 KB)

Before writing anything down, speak with the people closest to you who are concerned about your care and feelings. Your loved ones and other appropriate people, such as a member of your clergy or your lawyer, are the people who will be involved in your health if you are unable to make your own decisions.

Share copies of these documents with your spouse and other family members, and bring a copy to Plumas District Hospital to be included in your medical record.