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.
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