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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State Rep. Keith R. McCall |
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McCall: Healthcare Decisions Day gives you the power to choose
HARRISBURG, April 16 – State Rep. Keith McCall, D-Carbon, said, as part of the first-ever "Healthcare Decisions Day," hospitals statewide are urging Pennsylvanians to learn about living wills and other advance directives that outline a patient’s wishes and take the burden off loved ones should a catastrophic accident or illness occur.
"Hospitals see firsthand the difficult decisions families face when a loved one is sick or injured and can’t communicate," McCall said. "While the legislature voted to create guidelines for these decisions, it’s up to you and your family to take the next step and prepare. ‘Healthcare Decisions Day’ is the perfect opportunity to get the information you need from your local-care provider, talk to your loved ones, and put in place a solid, legal plan – a plan, I hope, you will never have to use."
McCall said the primary goal of "Healthcare Decisions Day" is to increase awareness and public knowledge of the benefits of advance health-care directives so that Pennsylvanians will be familiar with how to obtain and complete a living will or health-care power of attorney and have conversations with others concerning their decisions and www.haponline.org.
Social workers, chaplains, and other trained staff will be on hand at nearly 50 hospitals statewide to discuss advance directives, health-care powers of attorney, and living wills. For a list of participating hospitals nearest you, visit www.careforpa.org.
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CONTACT: Bob Caton
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