As Caregivers, we often have a number of daily responsibilities on our mind in relation to the (physical) health and wellness of our Caree. However, there are other important responsibilities that we as Caregivers have to attend to that is not always on the daily schedule. One of those responsibilities is to assure that all the Advance Directives are current and up-to-date!
We have been talking about reviewing our Advance Directives since we returned full-time to Florida last year. Recently we visited with our attorney Jake Miller to review our advance directives and did not realize until we sat down with Jake, that our directives were more than six years old. (Time does fly, even in Caregiving!) While our ‘instructions’ and ‘wishes’ were still the same, we learned from our visit with our attorney that Florida Law had changed quite a bit over the years and that we were in need of an update on our directives!
‘The Little One’ with our attorney, Jake Miller, Esq.
Here are some pragmatic reminders that will help us all ‘Be A Healthy Caregiver’
- Review your advance directives on a yearly basis:
- Be mindful that State Laws do change and updates are needed on a regular basis:
- When having ‘the talk’, reassure your Caree that this conversation is about their wishes, not yours:
- Don’t pressure, reassure:
- Keep a hard copy of the advance directives in your car at all times:
- Consider storing your advance directive in an electronic database: I recommend Docubank :
- Keep an updated copy of your Caree’s medications with the Advanced Directives;
- Always have a ‘hard copy’ of your advance directives readily available at home for emergency personnel including up-to-date information on medications:
- Learn about the ‘Five Wishes‘ by clicking here:
While having ‘the conversation’ in regards to Advance Directives is not always easy, assuring that your Advance Directives are up-to-date, will help reduce stress in an emergency!
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