Florida Hospital New Smyrna celebrates National Healthcare Decisions Day

NEW SMYRNA BEACH, Fla., April 22, 2016 On April 20, community members joined Florida Hospital New Smyrna in recognizing National Healthcare Decisions Day.

From 8 am to noon, the hospital offered information about advance care planning and advance directive forms in an effort to bring awareness to their importance and encourage individuals to express their wishes regarding healthcare. Nursing students from Daytona State College School of Nursing were also available to assist guests with completing forms.

Sometimes called an advance directive or living will, these advance care plans allow individuals to dictate their wishes for future medical care.

The goal of this event was to inspire thoughtful conversations within our community, encouraging others to complete reliable advance directives to make their healthcare wishes known, said Robin Roberts, Florida Hospital New Smyrna manager of case management. By creating an advanced care plan now, before a crisis occurs, families and healthcare providers wont struggle later, should the need to make difficult healthcare decisions ever arises. In the absence of guidance from a patient, these documents better equip healthcare providers and facilities to honor a patients wishes.

About Florida Hospital New Smyrna

Florida Hospital New Smyrna is a member of Adventist Health System, a faith-based health care organization with 46 hospital campuses and nearly 8,200 licensed beds in 10 states. With 112-beds, Florida Hospital New Smyrna is one of the six Florida Hospitals in Volusia and Flagler counties that composes the Florida Hospital East Florida Region. As the largest hospital system in the area, the Florida Hospital East Florida Region has 899 beds and nearly 5,900 employees. For more information about Florida Hospital New Smyrna, visit www.FHNewSmyrna.org.