Current through September 24, 2024
A competent person, of legal age, has the right to accept or
refuse medical or surgical treatment. In general, an individual has the right
to make health care decisions for himself/herself. Generally, if you are a
competent adult, you can consent to any treatment of care which will become
effective if the individual is no longer competent to make treatment decisions.
These instructions are commonly referred to as "Advance Directives."
A. The State Veterans Affairs Board will
provide a copy of its advanced directives policy to all applicants, for
admission to a Mississippi State Veterans Home, as part of the application
package.
B. All State Veterans Home
Social Worker will provide the resident or personal representative with written
information concerning advanced directives and rights under law and on the
facility's policies regarding advanced directives and refusal of medical
treatment.
C. An Advanced Directive
can be a LIVING WILL, A DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE, or other
evidence of the individual's wishes concerning health care decisions.
(1) A Living Will is a directive to be
allowed to die naturally. The Living Will comes into play only when the
attending physician, along with two (2) other physicians, believes that the
individual will not regain consciousness or a state of health that is
meaningful to the individual and but for the use of life -sustaining
mechanisms, the individual would soon die.
(2) A Durable Power of Attorney for Health
Care (DPAHC) is a document where an individual designates someone as their
agent to make health care decisions for them if the are unable to make such a
decision. The DPAHC comes into play when the individual cannot make a health
care decision either because of a permanent or temporary illness or injury. The
DPAHC must specifically authorize the individual's attorney in fact to make
health care decisions for the individual and must contain the standard language
set out in the law. Otherwise, the DPAHC can contain any instruction which the
individual wishes.
(3) Decisions to
accept or refuse treatment, internal nutrition via feeding tubes or gastric
devices, and/or artificial hydration rest with the resident or appropriate
legal representative. The Mississippi State Veterans Home and employees have no
official opinion on the care and treatment decisions of the individual
residents.
(4) It is the policy of
Mississippi State Veterans Homes to follow the directions given by each
resident with regard to accepting or refusing treatment to the extent permitted
by law and within State Veterans Affairs Board policy.
(5) No individual shall be discriminated
against or have care conditioned on whether the individual has executed any
advance directive.
Miss. Code Ann. §
35-1-27
(Supp. 2010).
