In the event of an emergency, have you designated a person to make health-related decisions on your behalf?

Everyone 18 and older is encouraged to complete advance care planning. This includes designating a health care surrogate who will speak on your behalf if the need arises, and the completion of a living will.
In conjunction with National Healthcare Decisions Day, the UF Health “Who Will Speak for you?” initiative will host two events.

From 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Thursday, March 31 at the Senior Recreation Center (5701 NW 34th Blvd.), The Conversation Project will encourage interested participants to learn more about advance directives and how to assist others in having these important conversations. This “train-the-trainer” workshop will provide a Conversation Starter Kit to enable participants to reach out to at least five other community members and pass along the skills they learned.

To learn more about completing your own advance directive, join our celebration from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday, April 18 at the UF Health Shands Hospital (north campus) Atrium.

Staff will provide resources to help you plan for unforeseen medical circumstances and end-of-life care. Questions answered during the event will include:

• When should I begin thinking about a living will?
• Which forms do I need to complete and where do I send them?
• How can I be sure my wishes will be properly executed?

At the event, staff will provide assistance with form completion and advance directives can be scanned into the UF Health medical records system. Those who have their documents scanned into the system will be entered in a drawing for an iTablet and receive a “You can do it! I did!” sticker.

Visit UFHealth.org/advance-directives and www.nhdd.org for more information.