What Is The Importance Of A Living Will or Health Care Directive?
WHAT IS A LIVING WILL/HEALTH CARE DIRECTIVE? When you are taken to a hospital in Minnesota from an accident or illness, it may be too late to prepare the documents to assure you the care you want or to provide access to your medical information for your loved ones. The Terri Schiavo case in Florida several years ago provides a graphic example of why every adult should have a health care directive. In that case, a 27 year-old woman went into the hospital for a simple medical procedure but fell into a coma and she lived for a number of years. She had no health care directive so her family could not help decide her medical treatment. The case went all through the Florida courts as well as the Congress, the White House and the U.S. Supreme Court. It certainly was a very sad affair. A Health Care Directive (HCD) under Minnesota law goes by many names… sometimes it is called a “Living Will” or an Advance Care Declaration or Health Care Power of Attorney. They all mean the same thing. A HCD
