Advance Directives

If you’ve already prepared advance directives that designate your wishes about your medical care, please let hospital Admissions staff know and be sure to bring a copy with you to the hospital for any inpatient stay. If you haven’t done this, please review the information below to learn more about advance directives from UHS in Binghamton.

Health Care Proxy

New York Health Proxy Law allows you to appoint someone you trust to decide about your treatment if you lose the ability to decide for yourself. You can give the person you select—your health care agent—as little or as much authority as you wish. You can allow your agent to decide about all health care or only certain treatments. Hospitals, doctors and other health care providers must follow your agent’s decisions as if they were your own. You can appoint a health care agent by signing a proxy form before two witnesses. Learn more about Health Care Proxy at the New York State Department of Health website. You can also print a proxy form or ask for one a health care proxy form at UHS in Binghamton.

Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNR)

A DNR order is the decision, mutually agreed upon by the patient, family, and physician, not to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on a patient. However, DNR orders don’t mean withholding other types of care or compromising the quality of care. Find out more about DNR orders from the New York State Department of Health website.

Living Will

This is a signed statement, made in advance, indicating your views and specific wishes concerning medical care, should you become unable to make such decisions for yourself, such as during hospital stays at UHS in Binghamton. A .pdf of a Living Will is available from the New York State Bar Association website.

Durable Power of Attorney

This is a legal document with which you empower another person to make personal financial decisions for you should you become unable to make such decisions for yourself.