Advance Directives

One frequent topic of conversation is Advance Directives, and they have never been timelier than now, in the face of Covid.  This is something we all should discuss with our family members and should be a part of all of our legal documents.  Whenever (at least it should be done) anyone goes to a hospital, or emergency room, the staff is required to ask our “code status.”  Briefly, this means, what happens if our heart stops when in the hospital?  Do they do CPR to attempt to re-start it,  do they intubate you (put a tube in your esophagus to connect you to a machine to help you breathe?).  These are not simple questions, and need to be thought about, understood, and discussed with your family. 

With the Covid crisis, if we are to be admitted to the hospital, we are typically alone, and these conversations should be discussed prior to admission, with the understanding, that they may be changed. 

In short, one of the most important things is to choose one person to be your health care power of attorney if you are unable to make your own decisions (and be sure that the hospital is able to reach this person.  Be sure that they understand your wishes and be sure to discuss ventilators.  Typically, if a person, under normal situations, will be on a ventilator for 2-4 days, and it is not that difficult to wean; however, patients with Covid can be on a ventilator for upwards of 3 weeks, and up to 88% of people placed on a ventilator do not survive. 

This is a lot to comprehend, and we will be discussing health care directives more extensively in further blogs. 

Check out the resource section of our website for the article entitled “Being Prepared in the Time of Covid-19”.