>> I was a caregiver for my brother
basically for his entire adult life
even before he got sick.
My brother could not read and write,
so I was his caregiver and I went along with him
to his hospital visits, his doctor visits,
just to explain to him exactly what was going on
and make sure he understood the things
he was signing and that sort of thing.
He had some liver issues, he was diabetic.
And unfortunately
we weren't aware
of Advance Directives.
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>> Advance Directive is a legal document
that shares with everyone
what you will like people to know about your wishes.
>> I don't think I've realized
the task at hand,
how important it was
until he actually did get sick.
And unfortunately we didn't have that discussion
about what he wanted if he was incapacitated
and unable to make decisions for himself.
So it came down to he had gotten sick,
and we had to have
these very difficult discussions
after he was will.
>> It's really important because
a lot of times when you're sick,
especially when you're hospitalized,
and you may be confused
or you may not be able to make decisions,
and therefore it's really important
to have a healthcare agent,
someone who can actually speak on your behalf.
Quite often in our ICUs we see a lot of that
where these discussions were not had
with their doctors or with their family members,
and so we often don't know what their wishes are,
and by default what ends up happening to people
is a tube is put down their throat
to be hooked up to life support.
>> You want someone to be able to speak for you
if you can't speak.
>> So having an Advance Directive is something
that's been really important to me for a long time
because as a chaplain I've been there so often
with families who didn't have an Advance Directive
or the patient didn't have an Advance Directive,
and the family is really in conflict,
they're not able to grieve,
they're not able to share in the grief with each other
because they're arguing about what they need to do.
>> I think it's important because
it was very difficult
for me to make decisions for my brother
when I wasn't absolutely sure what his wishes were.
>> Naming a healthcare agent is really important.
It's the very first step in writing an Advance Directive.
And I've always held onto that,
that a healthcare agent is someone
who knows you and that you trust.
And then you wanna fill out the piece of paper
or go online and complete the Advance Directive forms.
So writing an Advance Directive
can be really complicated
and it can be simple.
It depends on how you wanna do it.
So you can write an Advance Directive
and get very detailed about things like
feeding tubes and ventilators and procedures.
And if you wanna do that, you can certainly do it.
And the Advance Directive forms will help you with that.
They'll prompt you with questions.
You can also do things that are more simple than that.
You can simply say,
if I can't have the quality of life
that I wanna have,
ultimately then I don't wanna be kept alive.
I want to be allowed to pass away naturally.
So it's really up to you how much detail you wanna go into,
and it's important to think about that
as you're writing your Advance Directive.
Documenting an Advance Directive is
almost as critical as writing it
because if you don't document it,
if you don't put it in people's hands,
then they're not gonna know what you wanted.
So what you wanna do is
make sure if it's in writing,
that you have multiple copies,
and you have them with your doctor,
you have them with your healthcare agent.
>> I can't stress this enough.
It's really important to have that conversation
with your loved ones,
so that you are aware of what they want
and what they don't want.
>> I really believe for communities,
especially in the African American community
where you may not trust healthcare systems,
that you really need to have that healthcare agent,
to make sure that that person is a person that you can trust
and also that that person will be able to
keep in a safe place that Advance Directive.
>> We know that if people do this work
ahead of coming into the hospital,
that they receive the kind of care that they really want
and that they're better able
to cope with whatever is happening.
I mean no one ever wants to be in the hospital,
no one wants to be at end of life,
but what you hope for is that when that happens,
it can be the best experience it can possibly be.
>> It gives you a voice
because you may not have one
at the time that you need it.
And these are clear choices you've made
when you're healthy.
>> I'm Rick Bennett,
president of Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center,
and I have an Advance Directive.
>> My name is Andrea Fitz, and I'm a program coordinator
for the Department of Spiritual Care and Chaplaincy,
and I have an Advance Directive.
>> My name is Antoinette Joyner.
I'm the co-chair of the Health Ministry
at St. John AME Church,
and I have an Advance Directive.
>> My name is Michelle Harvey,
and I'm an Advance Directive representative
at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center,
and I have an Advance Directive.
>> My name is Debra Hickman,
and I am the founder and CEO
of Sisters Together and Reaching,
and I have an Advance Directive.
>> I am Paulette Chase-Lampkin, and I have one.
>> I am Dr. Rab Razzak and I have an Advance Directive.
>> I'm Reverend Paula Teague and I have an Advance Directive.
>> I am Reverend Christopher Brown
and I have an Advance Directive.
>> I'm Panagis Galiatsatos, and I'm a doctor,
and I have an Advance Directive, do you?
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