Living Will Registry Encourages Advance Care Planning With Steep Discount During Pandemic

WESTFIELD, N.J., April 2, 2021 (Newswire.com) - To recognize National Healthcare Decisions Day on April 16, the U.S. Advance Care Plan Registry (USACPR) announced steep discounts on its services for the entire month of April. The Registry is offering a 50% discount on its five-year advance care plan registration. Advance care plan documents, commonly called living wills or advance directives, tell families and doctors how a loved one wants to be treated at the end of their life. 

"People get confused about which document to complete - a living will, health care proxy, DNR - but the most important thing is to have a conversation with your loved ones. Let them know how you want to be treated when there is no chance for your recovery. After you have the conversation, you can then choose how you want to memorialize what you discussed," said Dr. Joseph Barmakian, an orthopaedic surgeon who founded the Registry. Downloadable forms for each state, and many other resources, are available on the Registry's website, USACPR.net, to help guide people through the conversation with their loved ones and then create the document. "Too many times a family is left to make heartbreaking, guilt-ridden decisions without knowing what their loved ones wanted," he continued. "We are offering this discounted program to encourage everyone to start the process: to sit down at the kitchen table and talk about your wishes," continued Barmakian.

"By definition, this plan is made in advance of when it may be needed, and many people put the document away in a safe place, making it hard to find when it is needed. Our goal is to make your wishes known by making your document available whenever and wherever it is needed," said Barmakian. "We have noticed a huge surge in registrations with the COVID pandemic, as people want to make sure their wishes are clear and available," he added.

The U.S. Advance Care Plan Registry is powered by the U.S. Living Will Registry. Established in 1996, it is the nation's oldest continuously operating advance directive registry. The Registry electronically stores an advance care plan and provides it by fax, email or over the internet to health care providers when it is needed. "Our computers are housed in a state-of-the-art data center with the latest security and backup systems," says Registry CEO Scott Jeffery. "We keep your information and document private and secure, but accessible when needed," continued Jeffery. The Registry stores all types of advance care plan documents, including living wills, advance directives, health care proxies, do not resuscitate, MOLST, POLST, organ donor information and all other types of documents.

A mobile app allows registrants to easily email, fax or download and view their documents when needed. Registrants are also provided a wallet ID card so that health care providers can quickly and easily access their document. There is also a mobile app for emergency care and ambulance personnel that allows them to search for the document by address, so they can view the document before arriving at the registrant's home.

For more information, visit the USACPR website at USACPR.net or call 1-800-LIV-WILL (800-548-9455).

CONTACT: 
Katie Urban
katie@uslwr.com
908-654-1441

Source: U.S. Advance Care Plan Registry