Tillamook County General Hospital, in accordance with religious beliefs and federal and state law, affirms your right to self-determination.

As a competent adult, you have the right to make decisions regarding your health care including the right to accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment, to complete advance directives and to designate a representative to make health care decisions for you.

Advance directives allow you to indicate, ahead of time, what your intentions for your health care would be if you became unable to make those decisions for yourself. Once you have completed advance directives, you continue to make health care decisions for yourself as long as you are capable.

Tillamook County General Hospital has instituted policies with respect to your right to make health care decisions. We will not condition your care upon whether or not you have completed advance directives. If you have completed advance directives, we ask that you provide us with copies for your medical record. We reserve the right not to act upon them when they are contrary to our mission or inconsistent with applicable law and regulation. We also reserve the right not to offer treatment which can no longer be expected to provide any benefit. An Ethics Committee is available to address controversies which may arise concerning these issues. When Tillamook County General Hospital elects not to honor your advance directives, you have the right to request transfer to another facility.

Our goal is to provide you with information that will help you decide whether or not you wish to exercise your right to make health care decisions ahead of time and to assist you at your request. If you would like to know more about advance directives, you may request a copy of the Oregon Health Directives booklet from the registration staff.

Please be advised that hospital employees and volunteers are requested not to witness advance directives. However, should you have any other questions, you are encouraged to discuss them with your physician, nurse, chaplain, social worker, or customer services coordinator.

The American Hospital Association offers a web resource with easy-to-use, helpful information on advanced directives called Put It In Writing. The site is in both Spanish and English. Elements of the site include:

• Wallet Card - a printable card that alerts health care workers that the card-carrying patient has filled out an advance directive. The card also provides emergency contact names and numbers.
  
  
• Put It In Writing brochure
  
  
• Glossary - simple explanations of frequently used terms like living will, advance directive and durable power of attorney for health care.
  
  
• Advance Directive links and toolkit - links include the National Palliative and Hospice Care Organization's free, state-specific, advance directives list. Also highlighted is the American Bar Association's Web Guide, 10 Legal Myths About Advance Directives and toolkit.