When to Create a Living Will

Death is not something many of us like to talk about, but health experts say when it comes to preparing a living will it’s best not to wait.

Jackie Wendorf, a palliative care social worker at Lee Health, says a living will is simply a list of what you want loved ones to do for your health. “It basically outlines what would be ok with you and what would not be ok with you. What you would want in terms of your health care.”

A living will explains what you would want your loved ones to do in the event of an illness or tragedy where big decisions need to be made about your health. “So many times people have illnesses but not talk about what they would want should their illnesses continue to decline,” said Wendorf.

In your living will she says it’s important to appoint a health care surrogate who will make decisions for you in the event you are not able to make them for yourself. “We encourage people when they do assign somebody to be their health advocate or their health care surrogate that it is a thoughtful decision, and that it would be somebody who would be a good advocate of what you would want if your health declined,” said Wendorf.

Contrary to common belief, a living will does not mean do not treat or do not resuscitate. It simply allows the patient to specify exactly what they want if they can’t speak for themselves. “Anybody can do them. It doesn’t have to be done by an attorney. You can have them done and just have them witnessed by two people. One can’t be related to you and neither can be named as your health surrogate,” said Wendorf.

She advises anyone over the age of 18 to have a living will.

Lee Memorial Health System in Fort Myers, FL is the largest network of medical care facilities in Southwest Florida and is highly respected for its expertise, innovation and quality of care. For nearly a century, we’ve been providing our community with everything from primary care treatment to highly specialized care services and robotic assisted surgeries.