Types of ADs

• “Living Will (LW)”- This is the most popularly known type of AD. It relates only to end-of-life issues. A Living Will goes into effect when you become incapacitated (unable to make decisions) and when your physician has diagnosed you with a terminal illness, in an end-stage condition, or in a permanent vegetative state.

• “Health Care Surrogate" - As with the Living Will, this type of AD goes into effect when you become incapacitated. Unlike the Living Will, however, the Health Care Surrogate may be used to deal with any illness situation in addition to end-of-life issues. As a result, its scope is broader than that of a Living Will. It also permits you to appoint a specific person (surrogate) who will make decisions on your behalf as well as a backup surrogate if you wish.

• “Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care" - This type of AD is essentially the same as the Health Care Surrogate, except it requires notarization.

  A Do-Not-Resuscitate Order (DNR), a Do-Not-Intubate Order (DNI), or Organ Donation commitments are also advance directives that can stand alone. For our purposes, each can be included in one of the three types of ADs discussed above.

  The DNR, DNI, and Organ Donation are discussed in the section about information you should put into your AD.

Examples of ADs used by Shands HealthCare

Health Care Surrogate and Living Will