National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD)

What is NHDD?

National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD), April 16, is a nationwide initiative that encourages adults of all ages to plan ahead of a health crisis.

When we make health decisions ahead of time and put those wishes in writing, we bring peace of mind to our families. We enable our caregivers to advocate for us when we are unable to do so for ourselves. We are more likely to avoid the difficult situations that are so common when we become seriously ill and our loved ones are left to guess what we would have wanted.

An Advance Directive, or Advance Care Plan, is a personalized plan that outlines your wishes in the event of a serious medical condition. These plans make it easy for family, friends, and healthcare professionals to make decisions about your care and understand your wishes when you are unable to speak for yourself.

As part of the Charted Healthcare Planning Coalition, we want to ensure every adult in the lakeshore communities has a plan for their future healthcare needs. We continuously work with individuals, organizations, healthcare professionals, and the community to educate them on the importance of making a plan. This includes how to have difficult conversations with friends, family, and patients.

The Charted Healthcare Planning Coalition consists of multiple community and healthcare organizations whose goals are to educate, create awareness, and give tools to communities regarding advance care planning. This long-standing Health Project collaborative is formerly known as the Muskegon End of Life Coalition.

Harbor Hospice and Harbor Palliative Care continue to value advance care planning (ACP) by partnering with key agencies, supporting community initiatives and offering free ACP discussions.  Our community support of ACP improves patient outcomes as well as personalizes the care they receive.

Serving Muskegon, Oceana, Mason, Ottawa, and Newaygo counties.