Making your wishes known
Apr. 17 event focuses on end-of-life planning
By Sande Snead CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Page Dowdy/Chesterfield Observer Jane Ellerbe (left) and Teri Yeatts, a wellness nurse, discuss the "Five Wishes" document, which assists with end-of-life planning.

Attorney Mary Ellis of Bourdow, Bowen and Ellis has found that two words can get most people thinking seriously about the hard topic of having an advance medical directive: Terri Schiavo. The heart-breaking case of the 41-year-old brain-damaged woman who became the centerpiece of a national rightto die battle has brought the spotlight on the importance of having one's medical wishes in writing.

In Schiavo's situation, her husband, parents, the courts and members of Congress battled over how and when to end her life.

"Most clients have said to me, 'I don't want to end up like Terri Schiavo,'" Ellis said.

That is why Ellis expects a full house when she talks about advance medical directives at 10 a.m. and 7 p.m. at Brandermill Woods Retirement Community on Apr. 17 in recognition of National Advance Directives Day.

The day is designed to raise public awareness of the importance of planning ahead for end-of-life health care decisions. The talk is free and open to the public.

As an attorney who specializes in estate planning, Ellis recommends sitting down with an attorney to draw up an advance medical directive since lawyers are familiar with HIPAA laws - the national standards to protect the privacy of personal health information. It only costs about $50 to $75 on average for an attorney to write an advance medical directive. To draw up a will, power of attorney and an advance medical directive, an attorney might charge about $300.

In addition to Ellis' talk, a social worker and a wellness nurse from Brandermill Woods will speak about the "Five Wishes" document, which helps express how you want to be treated if you are seriously ill and unable to speak for yourself.

"This national document takes the advance medical directive a step further and includes emotional, personal and spiritual beliefs as well as medical wishes," said Lisa Keppler, foundation and public relations manager at Brandermill Woods Retirement Community. "You can be as specific as, 'I want this prayer read at my memorial service' and 'These are my accomplishments I want recognized.'"

Five Wishes lets your family and doctors know: which person you want to make health care decisions for you when you can't make them; the kind of medical treatment you want or don't want; how comfortable you want to be; how you want people to treat you and what you want your loved ones to know.

"You are never too young to get an advance medical directive," Keppler said. "You should have one when you are 18 because decisionmaking is your own at that point. This is not just a measure for older people to pursue."

For more information about the event, call Keppler at 521-8282. To learn more about Five Wishes, visit www.agingwithdignity.org/5wishes.html.