Proclomation Regarding Health Care Decisions Day

Whereas,            Healthcare
Decisions Day is an important day of awareness and education focused on
encouraging everyone, including those who are healthy and in their prime of
their lives, to think about and document care treatment preferences before a
crisis; and  

Whereas, 
           Advance Directives
(living wills) allow individuals to document end-of-life wishes in the event
that they become terminally ill or critically injured and unable to talk or
communicate, and thus helps ensure that loved ones and healthcare providers know
how to honor individual care decisions; and

Whereas,                A recent study suggests that increasing the number of cancer
patients who have end-of-life discussions could save the U.S. over $75 million
a year without compromising care.  Yet, less than one-third of all adults
have a living will or any kind of advance directive to make their healthcare
wishes known in the event of catastrophe, studies show; and

Whereas,   The Healthcare Decisions Day is to
teach Americans the benefits of creating an advance directive and to encourage
healthcare providers to recommend them more often.  No one likes to think about the possibility
of a life-threatening injury or disease, but the simple act of creating an
advance directive can turn out to be an incredible gift for loved ones in the
event of an accident or severe illness.

Now, Therefore, the
Board of County Commissioners of Frederick County, Maryland hereby proclaims
April 16, 2013, as  

Healthcare Decisions Day

in Frederick
County, and do commend this observance to all of our citizens.

BOARD
OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS

OF
FREDERICK COUNTY, MARYLAND