Advance Care Planning
Make Your Wishes Known
It's important to us that patients are allowed to choose who can make medical decisions for them in the event they cannot do so themselves.
Advance care planning helps to ensure that your wishes about the type and extent of medical treatment you receive are fulfilled. Please discuss your wishes with your loved ones and choose a representative who can speak on your behalf.
Additionally, we encourage you to learn more about advance directives in New York State in the links below.
Completing an Advance Directive
Five Types of Advance Directives in New York State
- A Health Care Proxy lets you appoint a health care agent, which is someone you trust to make health care decisions for you if you are unable to make decisions for yourself.
- A Living Will allows you to leave written instructions that explain your health care wishes, especially about end-of-life care. You cannot use a Living Will to name a health care agent; you must use a Health Care Proxy.
- A Living Will together with a Health Care Proxy lets you state your health care wishes and name a health care agent.
- A Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR) lets you express your wish to do without cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR), which is emergency treatment to restart your heart and lungs if your heartbeat or breathing stops.
- Medical Orders for Life-Sustaining Treatment (MOLST) are one way of documenting a patient's treatment preferences concerning life-sustaining treatment.
Contact Us
Please speak with your health care provider if you have questions about advance directives or would like forms.
For more information, you can also contact Case Management at 518-262-3012.
Patient Relations is available to help as well:
Albany Medical Center Patient Relations: 518-262-3499
Glens Falls Hospital Patient Relations: 518-926-3450
Columbia Memorial Health Patient Relations: 518-697-7169
Saratoga Hospital Patient Relations: 518-580-4182
