Living Wills and Advanced Directives
A living
will, also known as an advance directive, allows a person to
state their end-of-life medical treatment and care. This document does not
hold any bearings after death, it solely directs physicians to care for a
person based on what is stated in their living will, especially
with issues such as DNR (do not resuscitate); without this document, it’s
difficult to judge an ill or incapacitated person’s end-of-life wishes. Many
hospitals have forms and information documents about advanced directives that
are handed to patients when they come in for procedures and surgeries. All
these documents need to be in Spanish for there are many patients who do not
understand or read English.
Miriam Iglesias
Miriam is an ATA certified translator. She has worked extensively in the medical sector enhancing patient and provider communications across languages and cultures.