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Michigan recognizes Healthcare Decisions Day, highlights Peace of Mind Registry
April 16, 2015
LANSING, Mich. – Individuals and their families often make important choices when navigating the health care system, including difficult decisions about end-of-life care. To prepare for the possibility that an illness or injury may leave you unable to make important health care decisions for yourself, residents may want to consider an advanced directive to ensure that their decisions are recognized in these situations.
To raise awareness of advanced directives and to highlight the availability and importance of Michigan’s Peace of Mind Registry, Governor Rick Snyder has declared April 16, 2015 as Healthcare Decisions Day in Michigan.
As part of Healthcare Decisions Day, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), along with Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson, is encouraging residents to consider completing an advance directive and submitting the directive to the Peace of Mind Registry for easy access and safe keeping.
An advance directive can play an essential role in ensuring that an individual’s end-of-life decisions are known and recognized. An advance directive can also ease the struggle for families and health care providers to make important health care decisions when patients are unable to directly communicate their wishes. By submitting an advanced directive to the registry, individuals and their families can address the challenges of making end-of-life decisions and prevent hardship during critical health care situations.
The Peace of Mind Registry is a free and voluntary statewide registry where residents can store and access their advanced directives in a secure manner. The MDHHS, Secretary of State Ruth Johnson and Gift of Life Michigan established the registry to assist individuals with ensuring their health care decisions are known and recognized. The registry also allows individuals, their health care providers, and authorized representatives to access stored directives through a convenient online portal. Individuals, their families, and their providers are encouraged to use the registry in order to facilitate important health care decisions.
For more information about National Healthcare Decisions Day, visit http://www.nhdd.org/.
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