In the wake of the expiring public health emergency and persistent capacity constraints within healthcare facilities, a coalition of leading organizations is coming together to promote proactive care decision-making by calling on patients to designate a healthcare agent and complete a health care proxy document.
This call to action is championed by advocacy groups from across the continuum of care, including the Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association, Honoring Choices Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Medical Society, the Home Care Alliance of Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Senior Care Association, LeadingAge Massachusetts, and the Hospice & Palliative Care Federation of Massachusetts. The coalition is urging every patient to designate a healthcare agent, or the person trusted to make care decisions on your behalf if you are unable to make them for yourself.
To advance this effort, the group created a Healthcare Decisions Toolkit, through which provider organizations can share resources and information about healthcare planning that supports providers, empowers patients, and reduces barriers to receiving emergency and inpatient care.
“As long-term care providers, we are entrusted with caring for vulnerable seniors and individuals with disabilities for whom a health care proxy is extremely important, said Tara Gregorio, President of the Massachusetts Senior Care Association. “We are committed to supporting the work of the coalition and our members will continue their efforts to educate residents, family members and caretakers on the importance of completing a health care proxy so that each resident’s wishes regarding medical care are honored.”