Making decisions about living wills, medical advance directives and do not resuscitate orders
Interviews by Versie Watkins
Photos by Ida McNeil
If a medical emergency put you in the hospital, would doctors know your wishes for treatment?
How can you make sure that everything—or nothing, is done for you? Social worker Debbie Hoke Knick of Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital offers some help in answering these and other vital questions. Knick met with members of MRSC Thursday, July 13, 2006.
| Versie Watkins interviews social worker Debbie Knick about senior citizens and their medical decisions. |
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What if I DO NOT want to be revived?
The rescue squad is required by law to resuscitate. If you do not want to be revived during a medical emergency, your doctor must complete this form for you. Ask your doctor for the yellow form--the Virginia Department of Health Durable Do Not Resuscitate Order.
Link to the VDH Web site for more information about this form and its use.
Can I appoint someone to make health care decisions for me if I am not able to make them?
You may use the Virginia Advance Medical Directive form to appoint an agent to make health care decisions on your behalf. Debbie Knick can help area residents fill out the form. Call Debbie to make an appointment to meet at her office in Carilion Stonewall Jackson Hospital at 540-458-3554.
Can I specify what treatments I do and do not want to prolong my life--such as feeding tubes and breathing machines?
The Virginia Advance Medical Directive form includes a section, "Living Will," for stating which procedures you want to be withheld or withdrawn. Contact Debbie Knick at 540-458-3554 for an appointment to discuss and fill out the form.
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| "If it hadn't been for my sister, I
would have lost my leg."
Ida McNeil on appointing a health care decision maker.
"I've been through one husband with cancer and one with a stroke, and I don't want to have to go through that." Versie Watkins on resuscitation.
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This story is part of "Seasoned Voices," a community journalism project for senior citizens by senior citizens. It is made possible by a Washington and Lee University Glenn Grant, and is supervised by Claudette Artwick, Associate Professor in the W&L Department of Journalism and Mass Communications.