Page 111 - Dementia-Care-Specialist-Toolkit

some or all of the following terms • protect the physician or hospital
and documents may be introduced from liability for carrying out the
by the lawyer hired to assist in this patient’s instructions
process. Broadly speaking, these • specify how much discretion the
documents can be divided into two person gives to his or her proxy
groups: (discussed below) about end-of-
• • documents that communicate life decisions
the health care wishes of A Durable Power of Attorney for
someone who may no longer be Health Care designates a person,
able to make health care
decisions sometimes called an agent or
• documents that communicate proxy, to make health care
the financial management and decisions when the person with
estate plan wishes of someone
who may no longer be able to Alzheimer’s disease no longer
make financial decisions can do so. Depending on State
laws and the person’s
ADVANCE DIRECTIVES OF preferences, the proxy might be

HEALTH CARE authorized to:
• refuse or agree to treatments
• change health care providers
Advance directives for health • remove the person from an
care are documents that institution
communicate the health care • decide about making organ
wishes of a person with donations
Alzheimer’s disease. These • trusts to manage the estate
decisions are then carried out • funeral and/or burial
after the person no longer can arrangements
make decisions. In most cases, • decide about starting or
these documents must be continuing life support (if not
prepared while the person is specified in a living will)
legally able to execute them. • decide whether the person with
Alzheimer’s will end life at home or
A Living Will records a person’s in a facility
wishes for medical treatment • have access to medical records
near the end of life. It may do the
following: A Do Not Resuscitate (DNR)

• specify the extent of life-sustaining Order instructs health care
treatment and major health care professionals not to perform
the person wants cardiopulmonary resuscitation if
• help a terminal patient die with a person’s heart stops or if he or
dignity she stops breathing. A DNR order

is signed by a doctor and put in

108