National Healthcare Decisions Day - Minnesota

                                         April 16, 2010 

HISTORY AND PURPOSE OF NHDD             

In 2008, both houses of Congress formally recognized National Healthcare Decisions Day (S.Con.Res. 73 & H. Con.Res. 323), officially establishing the NHDD event as a national initiative to occur each April.  The goal of National Healthcare Decisions Day is to engage and educate the public about the necessity of advance care planning.

PROBLEM TO SOLVE

Despite recent gains in public awareness of the need for advance care planning, studies indicate that most Americans have not exercised their right to make decisions about their healthcare in the event that they cannot speak for themselves.

SOLUTION

National Healthcare Decisions Day will help individuals understand that making future healthcare decisions includes much more than deciding what care they would or would not want; it starts with expressing preferences, clarifying values, identifying care preferences, and selecting an agent to express healthcare decisions if they are unable to speak for themselves.

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 have the information and opportunity to communicate and document their healthcare decisions.

ACTION

National Healthcare Decisions Day (Minnesota) will leverage participating organizations' efforts and commitment to:

• Increase awareness of the benefits of advance care planning so that individuals will be familiar with how to obtain and complete a Minnesota Health Care Directive, and to talk to others about their decisions.
• Rally a statewide media campaign to let individuals know how to access information and resources.
• Initiate outreach and educational activities for people to learn about advance care planning and to complete Health Care Directives.