Bill Text: NJ SR60 | 2012-2013 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Designates April 16, 2012 "Healthcare Decisions Day" in New Jersey.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-05-03 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee [SR60 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2012-SR60-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator JIM WHELAN
District 2 (Atlantic)
SYNOPSIS
Designates April 16, 2012 "Healthcare Decisions Day" in New Jersey.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
A Senate Resolution designating April 16, 2012 as "Healthcare Decisions Day" in New Jersey.
Whereas, An advance directive is a legal document of written instructions that communicates a person's wishes about the care and treatment the person would like to receive if unable to make health care decisions on the person's behalf; an advance directive becomes effective upon the determination of a physician that the person is unable to understand the diagnosis, the available treatment options related to the diagnosis, or the possible hazards and benefits of those treatment options; and
Whereas, Federal law requires health care facilities and home health care and personal care providers receiving Medicare or Medicaid payments to provide patients with written information concerning the right to prepare an advance directive and to accept or refuse medical treatment; and
Whereas, Every state in the country now recognizes the use of advance directives as a means to communicate a patient's wishes as they relate to health care decision making, even though the laws governing these directives vary from state to state; and
Whereas, The "New Jersey Advance Directives for Health Care Act," P.L.1991, c.201 (C.26:2H-55 et seq.) assures respect for a patient's expressed wishes when the capacity to participate actively in decision making has been lost or impaired, facilitates and encourages a sound decision-making process in which patients, health care representatives, families, physicians, and other health care professionals are active participants, and provides the necessary and appropriate safeguards concerning the termination of life-sustaining treatment for these patients; and
Whereas, There may be both a lack of knowledge and considerable confusion on the part of the public and health care professionals concerning advance directives; a study conducted by the federal Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality found that many patients have not participated in effective advance care planning even though many are willing to discuss end-of-life care, very few patients with an advance directive received input from a physician in its development, and that a majority of physicians, whose patients had advanced directives, were not aware of their existence; and
Whereas, The purpose of "Healthcare Decisions Day" is to inspire and educate public and private health care providers about the importance of advance care planning, encourage patients to express their wishes regarding health care decisions, and ensure that families, health care providers, and health care facilities respect those wishes, whatever they may be; and
Whereas, In order to accomplish this purpose, the primary goals of "Healthcare Decisions Day" are to encourage health care providers, hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, continuing care retirement communities, and hospices to participate in a national effort to provide clear and consistent information to the public about advance directives and to encourage health care professionals and attorneys to volunteer their time and efforts to improve public awareness about, and increase the number of citizens with, advance directives; and
Whereas, The designation of April 16, 2012 as "Healthcare Decisions Day" in New Jersey will result in more citizens of this State engaging in conversations about health care decisions, an increase in the number of advance directives being executed by well-informed patients who want to make their wishes known in the event they are unable to communicate those wishes to others, and fewer families and health care providers having to struggle with making difficult health care decisions in the absence of guidance from a patient; now, therefore,
Be It Resolved by the Senate of the State of New Jersey:
1. April 16, 2012 is designated "Healthcare Decisions Day" in New Jersey to raise public awareness for the need to plan for health care decisions in the event that a person is unable to make those decisions on his own behalf and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate a patient's wishes concerning medical treatment decisions and end-of-life care to health care professionals, health care facilities, and family members.
2. The Governor shall issue a proclamation and call upon public officials and the citizens of this State to observe the day with appropriate events and activities.
STATEMENT
This resolution designates April 16, 2012 as "Healthcare Decisions Day" in New Jersey to raise public awareness for the need to plan for health care decisions in the event that a person is unable to make those decisions on his own behalf and to encourage the specific use of advance directives to communicate a patient's wishes concerning medical treatment decisions and end-of-life care to health care professionals, health care facilities, and family members.
