Patients & Visitors

April 16 is National Healthcare Decisions Day: Are Your Wishes in Order?

Join us in recognizing National Healthcare Decisions Day—a chance to ensure your values, priorities, and healthcare decisions are known and respected. Advance care planning goes beyond paperwork—it's about peace of mind for you and your loved ones.

Attend our events at the following locations on April 16 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. to connect with experts, ask questions, and take meaningful steps toward documenting your wishes. Don't miss this opportunity to prepare for the unexpected.

  • Inova Alexandria Hospital - Cafeteria
  • Inova Fair Oaks Hospital - Lobby
  • Inova Loudoun Hospital - Lobby
  • Inova Mount Vernon Hospital - Cafeteria
  • Inova Schar Heart and Vascular - Fairfax Campus - Lobby
  • Inova Schar Cancer Institute - Fairfax Campus - Ground floor lobby
  • Inova Fairfax Hospital - Southside Cafe
  • Inova Health Center - Oakville - 3rd floor lobby
  • Inova Ashburn Healthplex - Lobby
  • Inova Primary Care - Annandale- Waiting room

The importance of advance care planning

It's important to start advance care planning early to give your loved ones guidance and reassurance if they need to make decisions for you in an emergency. Advance care planning includes having meaningful conversations with loved ones and completing legal documents, known as advance directives, to formalize your wishes in case you become seriously ill or unable to communicate them.

About advance directives 

An advance directive is a legal document that provides instructions for medical care and only goes into effect if you cannot communicate. It allows you to name one or more persons as health care agents or proxies to make decisions based on your wishes. Some advance directives include a “living will” section addressing your preferences for artificial life-prolonging procedures and treatments in the event of serious or critical illness. At Inova, we encourage all adults to plan for their health care future by creating an advance directive. You can choose to complete the entire document or only the sections that are most relevant to you.

In Virginia, an advance directive must be in writing and witnessed by two adults. The witnesses can include anyone over 18, including a blood relative or a healthcare provider. Notarization is not required for the advance directive to be valid in Virginia. While involving an attorney is optional, it is not necessary. 

If you don't have an advance directive in Virginia and cannot make healthcare decisions for yourself, the law specifies who will be authorized to make decisions on your behalf, potentially leading to conflicts if multiple people are involved. To avoid this, it's important to discuss your healthcare wishes and values with your chosen agents before any healthcare emergencies occur and to designate a healthcare agent or agents in advance. 

Under the Health Care Decisions Act, individuals with a terminal condition who have not created an advance directive can make an oral advance directive in the presence of witnesses. All other directives must be in writing. 

Virginia patients with a mental health treatment history should complete the general advance directive AND a Mental Health supplement form. Virginia patients who may be pregnant at the time of their treatment may wish to complete this advance directive form, which includes an optional “life prolonging procedures during pregnancy” provision.

Remember, your directives are in your hands. They remain valid until you decide to cancel them. You can modify or revoke your entire advance directive at any time. Any changes you make must be initialed and signed by two witnesses. To cancel the advance directive, simply write "revoked" or "void," then sign and date the change. After this, submit the updated advance directive to your healthcare providers, including Inova. Your healthcare team will follow the directive with the most recent date. Consider your advance directives as living documents that you review at least once yearly and update if a significant life event occurs, such as retirement, moving out of state, or a substantial change in health.

Advance directive forms

Inova Health System accepts all advance care planning documents as long as they are valid in the state where they were created. 

Virginia residents 

Inova’s advance directive form for Virginia residents is free, easy to complete and available for download in multiple languages:

Download the Standard Advance Directive Form:

 

Supplemental forms:

Non-Virginia residents 

Additional resources for advance care planning

Planning for future health care decisions — testimonials

"My sister and I were in charge of my mother’s care through 10 years of Alzheimer’s. She did not have a Health Care Directive of any sort. I think it is very important for the patient to define quality of life in their own words and make that part of Advanced Planning.
"My parents (one now passed and one 90+ year old) had one and it was very helpful as they aged, and we couldn't have conversations about [their] choices anymore. It was helpful that I was able to have conversations with my mom before she was affected by Alzheimer's -- and documented them -- as my father then became confused as he got older and wasn't sure about what she wanted, so having the document was helpful to remind him. Just overall good to have the hard conversation and then document it so people who have to make decisions for you know what YOU want. It is a heavy burden for others to make decisions for you, so giving them some help to know they are making decisions consistent with your wishes/beliefs."
"I have had an advance directive for over 10 years as I believe it is so important for ME to make these decisions ahead of any crisis situation so my loved ones do NOT have to try and project what I may have wanted."
"I want to be prepared for anything that might happen in the future - I want any decisions to be made by me/on my behalf. I want to be in control of any health decisions even if I am unable."