Five Wishes
When you have things to say
But can鈥檛 speak for yourself.
There are many things in life that are out of our hands or control. A Five Wishes document offers you a way to control how you are treated if you are seriously ill. It is an easy form to complete that lets you say exactly what you want. Once it is filled out and signed, it鈥檚 valid under most state laws, California being one of them.
Five Wishes is an advance directive, a legal document explaining how you want your medical decisions to be made if you can鈥檛 make them yourself. It will guide your health care team and loved ones when they need to make medical decisions for you. It takes into consideration your personal and emotional needs as well as the medical decisions. It lets you say exactly how you want to be treated if you get seriously ill, or are unconscious.
It鈥檚 also very easy to set up. All you have to do is check a box, circle a direction, or write a few sentences.
Five Wishes helps you think ahead of time about the kind of care you want. It lets you talk with your family, friends and doctors about how you want to be treated if you become seriously ill or incapacitated. Your family will not have to guess what you want. It protects them because they won鈥檛 have to make hard choices without knowing what you want.
It鈥檚 like having car insurance or an earthquake box. We all hope we鈥檒l never need it, but it鈥檚 there if we do.
If you would like to discuss making a Five Wishes document, please make an appointment with Amy Reichbach, our clinical health educator. A free service of the Klotz Student Health Center. 818-677-3666, option 1.