Advance Directives
Contact: Nydia Rios-Benitez, 860-418-6816, nydia.rios-benitez@ct.gov
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National Healthcare Decision Day will be celebrated nationwide on April 16, 2015 to educate the public and providers about the importance of advance care planning. We are planning to celebrate that day here in Connecticut and will post more information about it in the near future. For more information follow the link to National Healthcare Decision Day. Also, click on the link to get a List of all Nationwide Participants. |
Advance Directive is a legal document which allows any competent adult over the age of eighteen to influence their health care treatment, to communicate and to protect their preferences concerning health care. It provides a mechanism to specify their choice of treatments, interventions, medications, etc., to be used when their wishes cannot be communicated by them. Through an advance directive a person can also designate a health care representative of their choice, who can make decisions based on their wishes and provide instructions concerning the care of pets & possessions when needed. Advance Directives are about self-determination, control, planning, and a way to “Give Voice to Your Choice”. They are consistent with the recovery initiative which emphasizes that persons with behavioral health conditions must direct and manage their own recovery as part of their lives, rather than let the conditions define their lives. The Connecticut Legal Rights Project (CLRP) has partnered with the Connecticut Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (DMHAS) to expand the use of Advance Directives. Advance Directives can be created with assistance from certified facilitators in DMHAS funded and operated agencies and executed by CT Legal Rights Project staff.
* Adapted from the CLRP “Facilitator’s Guide, Give Voice to Your Choice.
Connecticut Legal Rights Project (CLRP) Resources:
For more information on Advance Directives contact CLRP at (877)402-2299 or visit http://www.clrp.org