April 16, 2008 - National Healthcare Decisions Day

VHCA (11/2/2007)

The new website for National Healthcare Decisions Day is now set up.  Please visit the website for all the details on promoting advance care planning in your community.  The National Healthcare Decisions Day Initiative is a collaborative effort of national, state and community organizations committed to ensuring that all adults with decision-making capacity in the United States have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions.

VHCA members were on board for the initial Virginia Healthcare Decisions Day two years ago and now we hope all members will participate in the event along with a broad array of other organizations as it goes national.  It is vital to raise awareness about these important issues across the country.  If you have not already done so, please sign up your facility and confirm your participation. 

Please know that you need not change what you are already doing to educate the public about advance healthcare decision-making and advance directives -- instead, you are simply encouraged to make a “bigger splash” in your community/state regarding the topic on April 16, 2008.  To assist in this effort, outreach materials are being developed and will be made available on the website.  A variety of ideas for events and activities can be found on the website under “Organize Your Community.”  This is a wonderful opportunity to work collaboratively with other healthcare organizations and a great chance to gain increased recognition for your facility. 

Finally, the success of this event depends largely on activities at the state and local level.  The event organizers are currently seeking volunteers to serve as state liaisons for this event.  This is a wonderful opportunity to work collaboratively with other healthcare organizations and a great chance to gain increased recognition for your facility.  If you are interested in serving in this role, please follow the “sign up” link.

For additional information or questions about this initiative, please contact: nhdd@nhpco.org.

Thank you for all you are already doing and for making this event a success.