[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BlogPosting","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/understanding-the-do-not-hospitalize-directive-rye-brook-ny-greenwich-ct\/#BlogPosting","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/understanding-the-do-not-hospitalize-directive-rye-brook-ny-greenwich-ct\/","headline":"Understanding The “Do Not Hospitalize” Directive","name":"Understanding The “Do Not Hospitalize” Directive","description":"Often, proxies are confused about how \u201cdo not hospitalize\u201d orders work. Several proxies believed, mistakenly, that a such an order was equivalent to a request to withhold medical intervention altogether. For elderly loved ones in nursing homes, there is a very powerful tool found in a little known directive known as the \u201cdo not hospitalize\u201d […]","datePublished":"2013-12-13","dateModified":"2023-08-12","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/author\/amorusolaw\/#Person","name":"Amoruso & Amoruso LLP","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/author\/amorusolaw\/","identifier":5,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12de032c04195e9c39a06a6d6eea182f7b4fa655c20e245f8094a244b5cdd0cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/12de032c04195e9c39a06a6d6eea182f7b4fa655c20e245f8094a244b5cdd0cb?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Amoruso & Amoruso LLP","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/amoruso-logo.svg","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/07\/amoruso-logo.svg","width":0,"height":0}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-about-hero-attorneys.webp","url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/img-about-hero-attorneys.webp","width":690,"height":451},"url":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/understanding-the-do-not-hospitalize-directive-rye-brook-ny-greenwich-ct\/","about":["Alzheimer's","Dementia","Elder Care","Elder Law","Health Care Agent","Health Care Proxy","Long Term Care"],"wordCount":333,"keywords":["Advance Directives","Alzheimer\u2019s","Dementia","Elder Law","Health Care Agent","Health Care Proxy","Medical Directives"],"articleBody":"Often, proxies are confused about how \u201cdo not hospitalize\u201d orders work. Several proxies believed, mistakenly, that a such an order was equivalent to a request to withhold medical intervention altogether.For elderly loved ones in nursing homes, there is a very powerful tool found in a little known directive known as the \u201cdo not hospitalize\u201d directive. Unfortunately, it also happens to be underused and misunderstood, as pointed out in recent article in The New Old Age Blog titled simply \u201cA Misunderstood Directive.\u201dAdvanced directives, as you may well know, are your medical choices reduced to black and white. They are intended to speak for you when you cannot. \u201cDo not hospitalize\u201d does not mean you do not want to receive care. In fact, you can even spell out the circumstances when you really want to go the hospital!Going to the hospital, however, is not always the best (or only) alternative across a spectrum of treatment scenarios. Hospitalization itself can be an intensely disorienting process, especially for patients with advanced dementia. Little surprise, then, that more than half of all elderly patients with dementia who are transferred from the nursing home to a hospital and back will pass away within the following 18 months. Accordingly, hospitalization can be an unfortunate step in the care continuum.In fact, hospitalization is oftentimes unnecessary. For example, most nursing home patients are sent to the hospital for respiratory infections, which is both avoidable and treatable in a nursing home setting without much trouble. On the other hand, the \u201cdo not hospitalize\u201d directive can still provide that a broken bone or the replacement of a medical device can still trigger a hospital visit if you so stipulate.While advanced directives do some important work, according to some the \u201cdo not hospitalize\u201d directive can help assure more peaceful late-in-life care.Reference: The New York Times \u2013 The New Old Age Blog (November 20, 2013) \u201cA Misunderstood Directive\u201dFor more information on advance directives, please visit my estate & long term care planning website."},{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Blog","item":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/#breadcrumbitem"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Understanding The “Do Not Hospitalize” Directive","item":"https:\/\/www.amorusolaw.com\/blog\/understanding-the-do-not-hospitalize-directive-rye-brook-ny-greenwich-ct\/#breadcrumbitem"}]}]