Your stay at Community Hospital
Location
Family Birth Center
Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula
23625 Holman Highway,
Monterey, CA 93940-5902
(831) 625-4773
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Community Hospital's Family Birth Center staff is dedicated to helping you with all the details of having your child. Included here are an explanation of your rights and responsibilities, and information about how we will keep you and your baby safe while you're here.
Your Right to Make Medical Decisions
This section outlines your right to make healthcare decisions and demonstrates how you can plan now for your medical care if you are unable to speak for yourself in the future. A federal law requires us to give you this information. We hope this will help increase your control over your medical treatment. Here are questions you might ask:
Who decides about my treatment?
Your doctors will give you information and advice about treatment. You have the right to choose. You can say, "Yes" to treatments you want. You can say "No" to any treatment that you don't want — even if the treatment might keep you alive longer.
How do I know what I want?
Your doctor must tell you about your medical condition and about what different treatments and pain management alternatives can do for you. Many treatments have "side effects." Your doctor must offer you information about problems that medical treatment is likely to cause.
Often, more than one treatment might help — and people have different ideas about which is best. Your doctor can tell you which treatments are available to you, but your doctor can't choose for you. That choice is yours and depends on what is important to you.
Can other people help with my decisions?
Yes. Patients often turn to their relatives and close friends for help in making medical decisions. These people can help you think about the choices you face. You can ask the doctors and nurses to talk with your relatives and friends. They can ask the doctors and nurses questions for you.
Can I choose a relative or friend to make healthcare decisions for me?
Yes. You may tell your doctor that you want someone else to make healthcare decisions for you. Ask the doctor to list that person as your healthcare "surrogate" in your medical record. The surrogate's control over your medical decisions is effective only during treatment for your current illness or injury or, if you are in a medical facility, until you leave the facility.
What if I become too sick to make my own healthcare decisions?
If you haven't named a surrogate, your doctor will ask your closest available relative or friend to help decide what is best for you. Most of the time, that works. But sometimes, everyone doesn't agree about what to do. That's why it is helpful if you can say in advance what you want to happen if you can't speak for yourself.
Do I have to wait until I am sick to express my wishes about healthcare?
No. In fact, it is better to choose before you get very sick or have to go into a hospital, nursing home, or other healthcare facility. You can use an Advance Healthcare Directive to say who you want to speak for you and what kind of treatments you want. These documents are called "advance" because you prepare one before healthcare decisions need to be made. They are called "directives" because they state who will speak on your behalf and what should be done.
In California, the part of an advance directive you can use to appoint an agent to make healthcare decisions is called a Power of Attorney for Healthcare. The part where you can express what you want done is called an Individual Healthcare Instruction.
Who can make an advance directive?
You can if you are 18 years or older and are capable of making your own medical decisions. You do not need a lawyer.
The importance of an Advance Healthcare Directive
In the unlikely event of a health crisis that leaves you unable to speak for yourself, an Advance Healthcare Directive is the best way to ensure that your healthcare wishes are known and honored.
By completing an Advance Healthcare Directive, you can:
- Appoint another person to be your healthcare agent. This person will have legal authority to make decisions about your medical care if you become unable to make these decisions for yourself.
- Write down your healthcare wishes, which must be followed by your doctor and your agent (if the wishes are lawful).
The Advance Healthcare Directive has replaced the Durable Power of Attorney for healthcare as the legally recognized document for appointing a healthcare agent in California. The Advance Healthcare Directive is valid forever, unless you revoke it or state in the form a specific date when you want it to expire.
Who can I name as my agent?
You can choose an adult relative or any other person you trust to speak for you when medical decisions must be made.
When does my agent begin making my medical decisions?
Usually, a healthcare agent will make decisions only after you lose the ability to make them yourself. But, if you wish, you can state in the Power of Attorney for Healthcare that you want the agent to begin making decisions immediately.
How does my agent know what I would want?
After you choose your agent, talk to that person about what you want. Sometimes, treatment decisions are hard to make, and it truly helps if your agent knows what you want. You can also write down your wishes in your advance directive.
What if I don't want to name an agent?
You can still write out your wishes in your advance directive, without naming an agent. You can say that you want to have your life continued as long as possible. Or you can say that you would not want treatment to continue your life. Also, you can express your wishes about the use of pain relief or any other type of medical treatment.
Even if you have not filled out a written Individual Healthcare Instruction, you can discuss your wishes with your doctor and ask your doctor to list those wishes in your medical record. Or you can discuss your wishes with your family members or friends. But it will probably be easier to follow your wishes if you write them down.
What if I change my mind?
You can change or cancel your advance directive at any time as long as you can communicate your wishes. To change the person you want to make your healthcare decisions, you must sign a statement or tell the doctor in charge of your care.
What happens when someone else makes decisions about my treatment?
The same rules apply to anyone who makes healthcare decisions on your behalf — a healthcare agent, a surrogate whose name you gave to your doctor, or a person appointed by a court to make decisions for you. All are required to follow your Individual Healthcare Instruction or, if none, your general wishes about treatment, including stopping treatment. If your treatment wishes are not known, the surrogate must try to determine what is in your best interest.
The people providing your healthcare must follow the decisions of your agent or surrogate unless a requested treatment would be bad medical practice or ineffective in helping you. If this causes disagreement that cannot be worked out, the provider must make a reasonable effort to find another healthcare provider to take over your treatment.
Will I still be treated if I don't make an advance directive?
Absolutely. You will still get medical treatment. We just want you to know that if you become too sick to make decisions, someone else will have to make them for you. Remember that:
- A Power of Attorney for Healthcare lets you name an agent to make decisions for you. Your agent can make most medical decisions — not just those about life-sustaining treatment — when you can't speak for yourself. You can also let your agent make decisions earlier, if you wish.
- You can create an Individual Healthcare Instruction by writing down your wishes about healthcare or by talking with your doctor and asking the doctor to record your wishes in your medical file. If you know when you would or would not want certain types of treatment, an Individual Healthcare Instruction provides a good way to make your wishes clear to your doctor and to anyone else who may be involved in deciding about treatment on your behalf.
- These two types of Advance Healthcare Directives may be used together or separately.
How can I get more information about making an advance directive?
Ask your doctor, nurse, social worker, or healthcare provider to get more information for you. You can have a lawyer write an advance directive for you, or you can complete an advance directive by filling in the blanks on a form.
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Keeping Your Baby Safe at Community Hospital
Please take a few moments to review the steps we follow to provide infant security and safety during your hospitalization.
- When your baby is born, identification bracelets with matching numbers will be placed on the baby's wrist and ankle, and one will be placed on your wrists. A security sensor will also be applied to your baby's ankle. Should any of these bracelets slide off, please notify the nursing staff immediately. The nurse will check the identification numbers on you and your baby each time he/she releases your baby to you. Your baby will only be released to you.
- Keep the door to your room closed when your baby is with you. If you need to use the bathroom, keep the bathroom door slightly open so you can see your baby at all times. Your baby should be returned to the nursery when you shower. Never leave your baby alone.
- Your baby should only be transported in his/her crib. Please do not walk in the hallway with your baby in your arms. Your baby must remain in the Family Birth Center.
- Only Community Hospital Family Birth Center nursing staff or your family members should assist you in caring for your baby. Do not release your baby to anyone except Family Birth Center nursing staff who are wearing blue photo identification badges.
Our infant security program includes video surveillance in the Family Birth Center, Nursery, and Main North.
If you have any questions or concerns, please call the Family Birth Center at extension 4773.
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