Health Care Decisions & Advance Care Planning

Advance Care Planning for Patients & Families

Advance care planning is a process that allows people to make decisions about their future medical care.

It provides direction when a person is unable to talk about their own health care choices. Advance care planning includes advance directive documents as well as on-going conversations with loved-ones and decision-makers.

Advance Directive/
Living Will

A living will provides information to your Medical Durable Power of Attorney (MDPOA) and healthcare team about your preferences for medical care if you are seriously ill.

You may specify preferences for CPR and life support, artificial nutrition and hydration, how you want to be treated if you are in a persistent vegetative state and if you want to donate your organs.

Medical Durable
Power of Attorney

A Medical Durable Power of Attorney (MDPOA) is a person you name to make medical decisions on your behalf if you cannot speak for yourself.

Colorado does not have a law about who should make decisions (a surrogacy law) so it is important to identify your decision maker.