LIVING IN THE NEW NORM: Preparing for the Unexpected

Apr. 28—CORBIN — One day we will all experience death. What if we could let our loved ones and caregivers know how we would like to be taken care of and of our wishes in our last moments when we are no longer able to communicate? Truth is, We all can.

Bluegrass Care Navigators Sarah Bowling, Commonwealth Attorney Ronnie Bowling and Edward Jones' Beth Davis gave a free seminar and lunch at the monthly, Living in the New Norm educational series on April 19, at the Corbin Public Library.

Each of the trio covered an important angle of advanced care planning — medically, legally and financially.

According to Ronnie, the most important legal document one can have out of the ones presented is the Kentucky Medical Orders for Scope of Treatment (MOST) form.

The form must be filled out with a physician and provides instructions for medical interventions to medical personnel and staff if you are unable to do so in a medical emergency.

The MOST form covers instructions concerning administering CPR, medical interventions such as intubation, IV's, and comfort measures. These are covered in the first two sections and can be very important for individuals who may have a known disease and want certain care when the disease becomes fatal.

The next two sections cover instructions concerning the use of antibiotics and fluids and nutrition if the affected individual is in a vegetative state and unable to make those decisions.

The form must be original and not copied and must be on card stock paper.

In addition to being completed with a physician, the MOST form should be properly filed at nearby medical clinics with your medical records.

Additionally, it is recommended to be kept on your fridge in your home for EMS personnel to access.

You can get access to the Kentucky MOST form at kymost.org.

"If you do have a loved one that would be a great fit for the form, they should at least fill out two or three because it needs to be a physical copy just like it was a DNR [do not resuscitate form] or a living will," Sarah said.

According to Kentucky state law, EMS crews are required to provide CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) if one does not have a heartbeat, unless otherwise ordered by a legal document. There is also a form that is solely to be used during medical transport called a Kentucky Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) that can be added to the MOST form wherever you store it.

An EMS DNR must have to be witnessed or notarized.

The next advanced care form that can be used to prepare for the unexpected is a living will.

"The living will does have to be witnessed by two or notarized. It is only in effect when you are no longer able to speak for yourself," Sarah explained.

The living will makes it possible to designate a health care surrogate.

The Living Will Directive form reads as follows:

"My wishes regarding life prolonging treatment and artificially provided nutrition and hydration to be provided to me if I no longer have decisional capacity, have a terminal condition, or become permanently unconscious..."

The Living Will document can be filed under public record at the court house, according to Ronnie.

To obtain a copy of a living will and for more information, you can check out the Kentucky Attorney General's website, which provides a living will packet to help you get started.

These forms are not a legal requirement to have or fill out but they can be important due to lifting certain burdens off family members when hard decisions have to be made.

Having these forms means hard decisions are already made so everyone can focus on making the possible last moments of one's life memorable and more comfortable.

Additionally, Sarah shared that the end of life is more of a medical moment than a phase even though it should be a phase of life. People should take control of the last moments of their life rather than passing away in a hospital with no decisions on comfort.

The Five Wishes booklet provided by FiveWishes.org helps guide an individual through questions that allow you to give answers that can be saved and shared with your family. This ensures nothing is missed when having the tough conversations with your family.

The booklet talks about your personal, emotional, and spiritual needs as well as your medical wishes.

We may not have control over when we fall ill or when we experience medical emergencies but we do have control over our finances.

Financial advisor Beth Davis advises that it is important to review beneficiaries yearly.

If you do not have a beneficiary, you're in danger of having your inheritance held up for years, family fighting over belongings and creditors getting ahold of your finances and things.

You can make sure all your life insurance policies, IRAs (individual retirement accounts) and bank accounts all have beneficiaries.

"We don't like to talk about dying. We also don't like to talk about money. We are all raised in the same area," Davis said. "The other part to that is that you have to make an effort to make sure a loved one or someone knows how to take care of your finances if you become incapacitated."

Finances should be discussed among both partners in a relationship and older children.

Financial advisors are like primary care physicians for your finances, according to Davis, and can help you plan for the unexpected financially.

You can contact a local financial advisor at Edward Jones in Corbin (606) 620-4580.

Davis advised that each of the documents spoken about in the seminar could be kept in a bright yellow binder somewhere safe in your home or in a safe that is accessible by other members of your family.

This makes it easy for in an emergency for someone to quickly have access to any documents needed and keeps them organized for when you update information.

The unexpected is never easy but a little bit of preparation can make the shock of a medical emergency or end of one's life a bit less complicated.