Beebe sets healthcare decisions open house April 17

Beebe Healthcare will mark National Healthcare Decisions Day Monday, April 17, with an open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the McCurry Conference Room of the Medical Arts Building on the Rehoboth Health Campus, 18947 John J. Williams Highway, Rehoboth Beach.

Beebe palliative care team members will discuss the importance of advance health care directives and provide assistance to attendees in completing their forms.

An advance health care directive is a legally recognized set of instructions to an individual’s medical providers. The directive can tell a medical team who the patient wants to make decisions on their behalf. It can also give specific directions about the care choices a person wants at the end of life. A directive is easy to complete, and there are several forms available to address specific needs.

At the open house, Beebe patient advocates Keith Goheen, BCC, and Jody Barbarulo, MA, will have forms available and can help individuals to complete them. Katie Johnson, DO, palliative care services director, and Magen Bowlin, NP, nurse navigator will be available to answer questions about medical choices.

“Beebe advocates for the right of every patient to make personal healthcare decisions,” Johnson said. “You have the right to accept or decline any medical treatment, and should you lose the capacity to make decisions, you have the right to designate someone to make decisions for you. You also have the right to record instructions to your medical providers about the life-sustaining treatments you may or may not want. Your written instructions become an important guide for your medical providers, and the instructions also lift the burden of difficult choices from the people who know and love you.”

For those who cannot attend, more information is available by contacting Beebe’s Patient Experience Department at 302-645-3547.

To download the advance directive form or learn more about this crucial healthcare choice, go to beebehealthcare.org/patients-visitors/advance-healthcare-directives.