Health Care Directive

Health care directives are strongly recommended for anyone with advanced or chronic illnesses. Ask your nurse for a health care directive form or download it now. You can complete it during your hospitalization or take it home with you to fill out at a later date. “Honoring Choices” is a simple health care directive form that is made up of two parts:

  1. Name a “health care agent,” a person of your choice whom you trust to make health care decisions for you, if you are unable to do so.
  2. Explain what medical treatments you want or do not want so that others will know what to do during a critical time for you.

When completed, the health care directive becomes a legal document and will go on file with your patient information and will be read by your health care providers. It stays in effect until you change or cancel it. North Memorial will accept your current health care directive, even if prepared in another state, as long as it meets the requirements of Minnesota state law.