Get your affairs in order, COVID-19 won ’t wait

The scourge of COVID-19 is spreading. Thousands of Americans are dying. What can you do to help? Yes, practice social distancing, wash your hands, and donate masks to local hospitals. Also, talk to your loved ones about advance care planning. What is advance care planning? Advance care planning means contemplating and deciding the type of medical care you would want if you had a life-threatening illness; you are never too young or too healthy to start these conversations. It involves identifying your goals and values, learning about life-sustaining interventions — such as cardiopulmonary resuscitation (measures to restart your heart and breathing), intubation (use of a ventilator to help you breathe), or artificial nutrition (being fed through a tube in your nose or stomach) — and sharing with loved ones and your doctors your preferences. An advance directive is written documentation of these preferences. These preferences are not set in stone and can be revised. Doctors will ask you about your care as long as you can communicate. If you are unable to communicate, doctors will ask your loved ones. Advance care planning empowers loved ones to advocate for the type of care you would have wanted and doctors to provide care honoring your wishes. The urgency of advance care planning in the COVID-19 pandemic COVID-19 can affect the chronically ill and the healthy, the elderly and the young. Patients with severe COVID-19 pneumonia can struggle to breathe and deteriorate rapidly....
Source: Harvard Health Blog - Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Tags: Emergency Planning End of life Health Health care Source Type: blogs