For Immediate Release
Contact: Barbara Erb
U.S. Living Will Registry
Phone: (908) 654-1441/Fax: (908) 654-1919
barb@uslivingwillregistry.com
Hospitals Outreach to Communities to
Mass Register Advance Directives
New Trend Intended to Ensure
Peace of Mind and Direction
Westfield, N.J. (June 26,
2000) – In keeping with the latest national health care trend of
registering advance directives on a local level, Englewood Hospital,
in partnership with the U.S. Living Will Registry, will hold an
informational seminar for community leaders on June 27th.
The seminar is in prelude to a mass registration of advance
directives later this year.
The step is intended to
ensure that a channel of communication is in place to guide doctors
in the treatment of seriously ill patients and ease the painful
process associated with dealing with the loss of loved ones.
“Englewood Hospital has a
long tradition of reaching out to our community and providing the
latest technology and practices to ensure we provide the best
possible service.
Therefore, it’s only natural that we recognize the benefit of
educating the public about advance directives and encourage our
community to participate in our upcoming preparation and
registration sessions,” said Daniel A. Kane, President and CEO of
Englewood Hospital.
To facilitate widespread
knowledge of the mass registration, community leaders will be
briefed at an open house at the hospital on June 27, 2000.
This informational seminar will inform community leaders of the
benefits of advance directives.
The seminar will serve to call upon local church, civic and
business leaders to inform their members of two upcoming
registration periods to be held in July and later in the fall.
“The registration periods
will be open to the public and are intended to provide local
residents with the opportunity to prepare advance directives,
incorporate them into their hospital records and register them with
the U.S. Living Will Registry,” said Dr. Joseph Barmakian, founder
of the U.S. Living Will Registry.
Once an advance directive is registered with the U.S. Living Will
Registry a person can be rest assured that their wishes will be
known and available wherever and whenever they are needed.
“As community leaders, they
are able to share valuable information with the community at large,
educating and empowering them to make their own decisions regarding
health care, should they ever be in a situation where they are
unable to make their own decisions,” said Sapna Kapoor, Patient
Representative at Englewood Hospital.
The timing of this latest
health care trend is no coincidence, as baby-boomers approach
retirement age and strive to retain the quality of life that they
worked so hard to achieve.
“Baby-boomers have come to realize that estate planning not only has
to do with their real property, but also their health and dignity in
the event they become seriously ill or incapacitated,” noted
Barmakian.
Hospitals across the country have quickly recognized that the
pre-planned, living will document is a tremendous asset.
Not only does it provide a clear, legally binding
direction to guide doctors in the treatment of the patient, it also
helps family members to know that their loved ones wishes are being
fulfilled.
Recently, a similar mass registration was held at Lenoir Memorial
Hospital in Kinston, N.C.
The hospital coordinated with a local law firm to prepare over three
hundred advance directives.
The documents became a permanent part of the patients’ medical
records and were also registered with the U.S. Living Will Registry
which can provide the document to hospitals through out the country
on a 24-hour a day basis.
The U.S. Living Will Registry
is a free nationwide service that stores your advance directive
electronically and makes it available 24 hours a day to hospitals
across the country. For more information concerning the
services of the U.S. Living Will Registry or to obtain a
registration form, please call 1-800-LIV-WILL (1-800-548-9455).
Or visit the U.S. Living Will Registry’s web site:
www.uslivingwillregistry.com.
Registration forms can be downloaded from the web site.
|