To view or download the Advance Care Planning Guide, click here. You'll need Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available as a free download: 

Why Advance Care Planning?
Making decisions about medical care is not always easy - especially now that machines can keep patients alive even when there is no hope for recovery. It's your right to participate in and plan for your care. But at some point, you may become unable to make your own health care decisions. That's why it's important to think and talk about your feelings and beliefs with your loved ones -- long before critical decisions must be made.

The Advance Care Planning Guide provides you with information about creating two "advance directives" -- legal documents that state your preferences about medical care. Please read it carefully and discuss it with your family, doctor, patient representative, chaplain or other caregiver. 

You don't need to have an advance directive if you don 't want one - no hospital, nursing home, doctor or insurance company can require you to have advance directives to provide you with services. However, it 's a good idea to have advance directives in place if you want to make sure that your family and doctors follow your wishes about your medical care. It will also make it much easier for your family should you become unable to participate in decisions about your care. They will not have to agonize over difficult decisions, uncertain of what you would want them to do. And, if family members or your doctors disagree about what is right for you, advance directives will help you avoid having decisions made by the courts, which can be difficult, time consuming and costly...

To request a hard copy of the Guide send your address plus $2 per copy requested to: 

Foundation for Healthy Communities, ACP Guide Request
125 Airport Road
Concord, NH 03301

For more information, please contact Shawn LaFrance at slafrance@healthynh.com.