Lecture stresses importance of planning for future life events
The Daily Mail
May 11, 2009, online
May 13, 2009, in print

CATSKILL - Attorney Andrea Lowenthal led the first of what may be several panel lectures about the importance of planning for life events Saturday morning at the Catskill Community Center.

Joined by two health care professionals, she discussed with the audience the different care and legal options people can choose as they prepare to battle illnesses or for unexpected events.

The program, which will include future lectures that will cover caregiving agreements, estate planning and trusts, Lowenthal said, grew out of what she saw as a resistance among clients to make decisions about the future.

“Having the information about what these documents are empowers you,” she said, “the focus is really on taking charge of your decisions instead of letting other people take charge of them when and if something happens.”

A living will details a patient’s wishes, rather than allowing an agent to make a substitutive decision as does a proxy form.

She warned that someone granted “durable power of attorney” could begin abusing that power as soon as it is validated, however the designation of “springing power of attorney” only goes into effect once certain conditions are made.

She said that people who have witnessed the death, or illness, of someone close may consider their own future care needs differently than those who have not.

Lowenthal explained that people should not wait until they are old to discuss their health care wishes and decide who can be a health care proxy with someone they can trust.

“You have got to get comfortable with the idea that there is someone in your constellation of your family and friends who can do this for you,” she said.

She suggested that two alternative proxies should be chosen in case a first or second choice person is unable to perform their duties.

Medical orders for life-sustaining treatment and other important forms can be posted on a refrigerator so that emergency personnel can easily find them, she said. Last wills and testaments, living wills and power of attorney forms should be kept in a water and fire proof box, she said.

Tammy Jo Chewens, a registered nurse and certified hospice and palliative nurse who is a case manager at the Community Hospice of Columbia/Greene, said that caregivers and those who need care are faced with a number of choices.

Decisions can be made, she said, including whether to modify a house or apartment to accommodate limited mobility or to move into an assisted living facility.

She suggested that people compile a financial profile and a list of people who can be contacted in case of an emergency. Pharmacists can provide information about medications and risks, she said, adding that people should buy all their medications from one pharmacy.

Information for caregivers can be obtained from the Greene County Department for the Aging, Greene County Public Health, Greene County Mental Health, the Healthcare Consortium and Community Hospice of Columbia/Greene.

“It is okay to ask for help,” Chewens said.

Linda Karlsson, a registered nurse and a clinical manager with United Health Care, explained that resting, maintaining a healthy diet, exercising and lowering stress levels can keep people healthy.

Stress relief, Karlsson said, can stop the release of damaging toxins in the body.

She said that people can confront their fears of the unknown future by discussing care needs.

She reiterated the seminar’s theme that knowledge is power and suggested that people bring written symptoms and questions to appointments with doctors and lawyers.

“In order to make a good choice, you need to learn,” she said.