Making Sure Your Wishes are Known
Each day families and health-care providers struggle with making difficult medical decisions when patients who are unable to speak for themselves don’t have an advance directive in place that outlines their wishes.
Making sure that your legal documents are current and in order is one of those inevitable tasks that most of us assiduously try to avoid. However, like it or not, it’s an important part of the life process. To assist New Yorkers with this often uncomfortable chore, the New York State Bar Association is offering its 2010 Mitchell Rabbino National Healthcare Decision Making Day programs on helping elderly New Yorkers answer the question. This year Massena Memorial Hospital partnered with Efstathia G. Kyriakopoulos, Esq. of Snider and Snider Law Firm, and offered the program locally.
On Friday, April 16, Efstathia G. Kyriakopoulos, presented a free community seminar/luncheon on: Powers of Attorney and Health Care Proxies sponsored by Massena Memorial Hospital. What are the health care proxies and powers of attorney? How do they differ? What are the different kinds of power of attorney? How can these documents help avoid a guardian? What should be considered in choosing an agent? What must be done to complete these forms? A conference room full of people from Massena, Ogdensburg, Potsdam, North Lawrence, Nicholville and Waddington attended the educational program.
According to Kyriakopoulos, health care proxy and an appropriate durable power of attorney are tools that can avoid costly and time-consuming court proceedings for a guardianship. A major advantage of both the power of attorney and health care proxy is that they allow individuals to select whom they want to make financial and health care decisions for them if they become unable to make them on their own.
“Massena Memorial Hospital hopes this event helps educate people about advance health-care decision- making and also encourage them to think about, discuss and document their wishes in the event they cannot speak for themselves at some point,” said Tina Corcoran, Senior Director of Public Relations/Planning. “We have offered this program annually for the benefit of our community members.”
Since its inception, 16 years ago, National Healthcare Decision Making Day programs have offered valuable consumer information and assistance, and provided participants with the tools necessary to make informed legal decisions. The workshops continue to provide an opportunity for practicing lawyers to explain to the public legal procedures such as the creation of advance directives to plan for the possibility of incapacity, and making a will to ensure the appropriate distribution of assets at death.
National Healthcare Decisions Day is a volunteer, public-service project which included Efstathia G. Kyriakopoulos, Attorney, speaking on topics relevant to older New Yorkers, their family members and care givers.
