CTMC celebrates National Healthcare Decisions Day

Central Texas Medical Center (CTMC) Hospice Care, along with other national, state and community organizations, are leading a massive effort to highlight the importance of advance healthcare decision-making – an effort that has culminated in the formal designation of April 16 as National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD).

“Making advanced decisions about your healthcare is so important and can make an unbelievably difficult time a little easier for you and your loved ones,” CTMC President/CEO Anthony Stahl said. “I am proud of CTMC Hospice Care for being part of this movement to help shed light on something many people don’t want to think about.”

In April, leading up to NHDD, CTMC Hospice Care has hosted “Coffee & Conversation” gatherings at local nursing homes and retirement communities. On April 16, the public is invited to CTMC’s large community classroom to view and discuss a video, “Consider the Conversation: A Documentary on a Taboo Subject.” Informed team members will be present to answer questions and official forms will be available. There will be two screenings at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

“Our hope is that, as a result of National Healthcare Decisions Day, many more people in our community will have thoughtful conversations about their healthcare decisions and complete reliable advance directives to make their wishes known,” said Director of CTMC Hospice Care Allison Hardy, RN, BSN.

As a participating organization, CTMC is providing information and tools for the public to talk about their wishes with family, friends and healthcare providers, and execute written advance directives (healthcare power of attorney and living will) in accordance with Texas state laws. These resources are available at CTMCHospice.com.

CTMC originated in 1923 as Hays County Soldiers, Sailors and Marines Memorial Hospital. It opened at its current Wonder World Drive location in 1983. The CTMC staff of more than 700 employees works with more than 300 active and consulting physicians to provide quality services to patients and their families. For more than 20 consecutive years, CTMC has been named The Best Hospital in Hays County in the annual “Best of Hays” ballot released by the San Marcos Daily Record. In addition to interventional cardiac services, CTMC is a Certified Chest Pain Center and an accredited Primary Stroke Center. CTMC leads the region in da Vinci robotic-assisted surgery and offers a variety of specialty care services including medical imaging, rehabilitation, hospice, women’s services and more. For more information, visit CTMC's website. 

CTMC is a member of AdventHealth. AdventHealth is a connected system of care for every stage of life and health. More than 80,000 skilled and compassionate caregivers in physician practices, hospitals, outpatient clinics, skilled nursing facilities and hospice centers provide individualized, holistic care. A shared vision, common values, focus on whole-person health and commitment to making communities healthier unify the system’s 46 hospital campuses and hundreds of care sites in diverse markets throughout nine states.