Perry Memorial Hospital has a commitment to the preservation of life and alleviation of suffering. Therefore, every patient admitted to the hospital will receive total life support, including resuscitation, unless a decision not to resuscitate (to revive from apparent death) has been previously made. Social Services is the department which handles Healthcare Advance Directives.
It is the policy of Perry Memorial Hospital to recognize the rights of its patients to make informed decisions about their medical care (including the right to accept or refuse medical or surgical treatment, including life-sustaining care, even if the refusal could hasten death), and the right to formulate advance directives. Additionally, this hospital recognizes the rights of patients lacking the decisional capacity to have surrogates, as provided by law, who may make decisions on their behalf.
Further, it is the policy of Perry Memorial Hospital to comply with applicable law and to promote patients’ self-determination by encouraging the use of advance directives and honoring treatment preferences expressed by patients and their advance directives, so long as those preferences are allowed by law.
In so doing, it is this hospital’s policy not to condition care or discriminate against individuals based on whether they have executed an advance directive, nor to require any person to execute an advance directive.