April is Healthcare Decisions Month

Among 50 states, only Arkansas and North Carolina saw a decrease in hospice utilization last year. “Hospice is not about death, it is about living the last phase of life’s journey to the fullest,” states Cathy Newhouse, CEO of Hospice Home Care. “Our bodies have a 100% mortality rate. Making end of life choices benefits all adults and has proven to lower healthcare costs.”

Making end of life choices must be completed well before the end is near. In fact, anyone 18 years and older is encouraged to make their choices sooner rather than later, as life is predictably unpredictable. Hospice Home Care has selected Five Wishes as its preferred healthcare decisions document to share with the people living in communities they serve. All Arkansans need to do is check a box, circle a direction, or write a few sentences using this advance directives document. Once it is signed and witnessed, your Five Wishes is a legal document.

Completing Five Wishes keeps families out of the difficult position of guessing what kind of treatment you want or don’t want at the end of life. It combines a living will and healthcare power of attorney in addition to addressing matters of comfort care and spirituality. Five Wishes meets the legal requirements for an advance directive. Because Five Wishes is written in everyday language, it helps people express their wishes in areas that matter most—the personal and spiritual in addition to the medical and legal. It also helps you describe what good care means to you, whether you are seriously ill or not. It allows your caregiver to know exactly what you want.

The goal of Hospice Home Care is to distribute 20,000 copies of the Five Wishes document during 2018 to patients and families living in the communities where HHC provides services. To schedule a Five Wishes presentation for your church or civic group, fill our our Contact Form or call toll free 1-844-558-4100 and ask to speak with a representative near you.