How Paperwork Helps Protect Your Patient: The Importance of Advance Care Directives

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Brookdale Senior Living offers multiple care levels for seniors in more than 600 communities nationwide. Brookdale helps you find the right care plan for yourself or your loved one. With amenities such as transportation services, salons and private dining rooms and activities such as gardening, fitness classes and trivia nights Brookdale caters to a wide range of interests and needs.

Physicians prioritize care delivery in accordance with a patient’s best interest and wishes. If a patient becomes mentally or physically incapacitated and unable to effectively communicate those desires, advance directives are imperative to proper care. Unfortunately, the following statistics show that many people have not prepared for this possibility.

While every adult over 18 years old should have a power of attorney, only one-third of adults actually have an advance directive.
Though 90% of individuals realize it’s important to discuss end-of-life wishes with their family and physicians, only 27% have done so.
When asked, “people guessed nearly 1 out of 3 end-of-life decisions for their loved one incorrectly.”

At Brookdale, during our Optimum Life® Continuing Education Series, we asked Kerry R. Peck, Esq., to discuss the differences between powers of attorney and advance directives, and why they are important to healthcare professionals. Brookdale’s CE series features industry leaders in different senior-related topics and provides healthcare professionals 1.0 CE credit (one hour) per session.

Peck is the managing partner of the Chicago law firm Peck Ritchey, LLC, where he specializes in Trust and Estate Litigation, Estate Planning/Administration, Guardianship and Fiduciary Litigation, and Elder Law. He was recently appointed by the Illinois Supreme Court to chair the newly created Supreme Court Commission on Elder Law and is a frequent speaker at continuing education seminars for attorneys and healthcare professionals across the country.

Proper Paperwork Helps Protect Your Patient

According to Peck, healthcare professionals should be able to identify the different types of legal documents necessary to help ensure their patient’s care wishes, recognize when each document is helpful, and understand the detrimental scenarios that can occur if a patient does not have proper paperwork.

These include:

Advance Directive: An advance directive details the patient’s healthcare wishes and treatment preferences in the event they are unable to decide for themself.
Power of Attorney: A power of attorney uses a legal document to identify the person a patient chooses to make decisions for them, should they become incapacitated. This individual will make healthcare, estate and/or financial decisions and should be someone in whom the patient has utmost trust.
Guardianship: A guardian is determined by the court as a legally authorized substitute decision-maker for someone proven to lack sufficient understanding to make or communicate responsible decisions concerning their care or financial affairs. Courts may appoint a guardian of the person, a guardian of the financial estate or a guardian overseeing both the person and the estate.

Again, according to Peck, if a patient’s competency is questioned in an attempt to overturn an estate plan or power of attorney, or to determine guardianship, members of the healthcare team may be called upon by the court to testify. The attending physician attests to the testamentary capacity of sound mind and memory necessary to execute legal documents. The court may also request a physician’s report to determine mental deterioration or illness, physical incapacity and/or developmental disability to render the best decision for the patient.

At Brookdale, we take a holistic approach to caring for our residents. We partner with their families and healthcare teams to help create a community that recognizes diverse backgrounds and individual needs. Our Continuing Education Series allows us to provide health and caregiver professionals nationwide with insights into many senior health topics. To find view Brookdale’s Continuing Education Series schedule and to request registration options, please click here.

^{NOTE: Brookdale Senior Living cannot and does not provide professional legal advice. The above content is shared for educational and informational purposes only. The content is not intended to be a substitute for professional legal advice and should not be relied upon for making legal or other decisions. Please consult your attorney before acting on any content herein.}

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