Advance Directives

At Pardee Hospital, we honor your right to make decisions about your own health care.

As a patient, you have the right to accept, refuse or withdraw from any treatment, even if you are not physically or mentally able to make these decisions at the time of treatment.

Advance directives ensure that your decisions about your treatment are honored. We are required to ask you if you have any advance directives. If so, we will need copies of these signed legal documents to place in your medical record.

Examples of advance directive documents include:

• Living will, which is a declaration of your desire for a natural death

• Health care power of attorney, which allows you to name a health care representative, such as a child or spouse

• Advance instruction for mental health treatment, which specifies your mental health treatment choices

In North Carolina, this form must be notarized in the presence of two witnesses. A downloadable/printable version of an Advance Directive for North Carolina can be accessed here. For questions or assistance regarding this form, you may contact Spiritual Care services at 828-696-1168.   

If you already have a completed and notarized living will and/or healthcare power of attorney, please let your nurse know and bring a copy with you to the hospital if it is not already on file with UNC Health Pardee.