CEO: Advance Directives
April 14, 2025
(Published as a Letter to the Editor in The Carrollton Democrat)
By Scott Thoreson, Carroll County Memorial Hospital Chief Executive Officer
On April 16 of each year, there is a day dedicated to learning about Advance Directives, and it is National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD). Advance Directives are also known as Health Care Directives or Advance Care Planning (ACP) and are a way to express your healthcare wishes to your family members and healthcare providers. This day was started in 2007 by The Conversation Project that evolved from the Institute for Healthcare Improvement.
I was a proponent of creating Advance Directives in my role prior to coming to CCMH. The manner in which I developed my personal Advance Directive was the result of a kitchen table meeting in my own home by a trained hospital volunteer. I shared this plan with my wife and children and my oldest son was part of the meeting, so he understood my wishes. My wife also developed her plan. It is unique to her, and it differs in certain ways to what I would have thought she wanted, but again, that is the reason and the beauty of developing Advance Directives. We also encouraged our children, as they went off to college, to utilize a “short form” Advance Directive that was available.
If you are interested in completing an Advance Directive, CCMH can help by providing a booklet developed by The Missouri Bar. It is a practical way of helping make end-of-life wishes known and we have CCMH personnel that could assist in completing the material if needed. You can also learn more about the National Healthcare Decisions Day at theconversationproject.org/nhdd
Besides National Healthcare Decisions Day, another time of the year to talk about your healthcare wishes can be when your family gathers for Thanksgiving.
I hope this article has provided a bit more of an insight into what each of us can do to share under which circumstances we want to have certain health care interventions provided to us when we are not able to communicate that directly to caregivers. If you have a certain topic you would like us to discuss, please reach out to us at info@ccmhospital.org. I wish you good health!
More in this Series:
CEO: Health Insurance Decision Time (Published September 25, 2024)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-health-insurance-decision-time
CEO: Hospital Week 2024 (Published May 13, 2024)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-hospital-week-2024
CEO: Community Health Needs Initial Assessment (Published April 24, 2024)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-community-health-needs-initial-assessment
CEO: Cybersecurity (Published February 14, 2024)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-cybersecurity
CEO: End of Year Reflections (Published December 29, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-end-of-the-year-reflections
CEO: Coding Matters (Published November 22, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-coding-matters
CEO: Maternity Care Desert (Published October 25, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-maternity-care-desert
CEO: Rural Emergency Hospitals (Published September 20, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-rural-emergency-hospitals
CEO: Primary Care Provider (Published August 23, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-primary-care-provider
CEO: Supply Shortages (Published June 28, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-supply-shortages
CEO: CCMH Named Top 20 Critical Access Hospital (Published June 14, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-ccmh-named-top-20-critical-access-hospital
CEO: Hospital Week 2023 (Published May 3, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-hospital-week-2023
CEO: Prior Authorizations (Published April 5, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-prior-authorizations
CEO: Staff Shortage and Open Positions (Published February 8, 2023)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-staff-shortage-and-open-positions
CEO: End of Year 2022 (Published December 14, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-end-of-2022
CEO: Purpose of the Foundation (Published November 10, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/purpose-of-the-foundation
CEO: Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (Published September 28, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-health-insurance-portability-and-accountability-act
CEO: CCMH Providers (Published August 24, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-ccmh-providers
CEO: Financial Assistance (Published July 20, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-financial-assistance
CEO: Social Determinants of Health (Published June 29, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-social-determinants-of-health
CEO: National Hospital Week (Published May 11, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-national-hospital-week
CEO: Why Healthcare is Expensive (Published May 4, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-why-healthcare-is-expensive
CEO: A Hospital is Still a Business (Published March 16, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-a-hospital-is-still-a-business
CEO: Different Types of Hospital Ownership (Published February 1, 2022)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-different-types-of-hospital-ownership
CEO: Holiday Message (Published December 20, 2021)
https://www.carrollcountyhospital.org/news/ceo-holiday-message