SHELTON, WA – Who will make medical decisions for you when you no longer can? Make sure your health care choices are known. Mason Health is proud to announce new workshops about planning your advanced directives — Mark your calendars for Wednesday, May 29, at 4 p.m., or Thursday, June 20, at 12:30 p.m., both at the Ellinor meeting room at Mason General Hospital. At each workshop, a Mason Health representative will discuss the importance and benefits of completing advance directives. The workshop and all forms are provided free. Bring your questions! Our presenter is knowledgeable and can direct you to more resources.

Advance Directives are legal documents describing how you want your health care handled if you can no longer communicate your wishes. There are two types of Advance Directives: a Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care and a Living Will. A Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care allows you to name a person as your health care agent to speak and act on your behalf if you are not able to. This should be someone who knows your beliefs, values, and health care wishes. A Living Will is a legal document completed by you that tells medical providers what you do or do not want if you are diagnosed with a terminal condition or are permanently unconscious and unlikely to recover. You may choose to decline life-sustaining measures that artificially prolong the process of dying.

Additional workshops will be planned this year at Mason Health and around the community. For more information or to register for a workshop, email Mason Health Volunteer Karen Wiley, BSN, at kwiley@masongeneral.com.

Mason Health, Public Hospital District No. 1 of Mason County is ISO 9001 Quality Management System certified by Det Norske Veritas (DNV) and is a licensed and accredited acute care hospital with a level four emergency trauma designation. Mason General Hospital and Mason Clinic are ENERGY STAR® certified and Mason Health is the recipient of three Practice Greenhealth Partner for Change Awards and a Greening the OR Environmental Excellence Award. There are more than 100 physicians on staff in 19 specialties. For more information or to find a health care provider, visit www.masongeneral.com. To learn more about DNV, visit www.dnv.com/healthcare.

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