[Health Care Directive] New Hampshire

Using these Materials

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

1. Check to be sure that you have the materials for each state in which you may receive health care.

2. These materials include:
   1. Instructions for preparing your advance directive, please read all the instructions.
   2. Your state-specific advance directive forms, which are the pages with the gray instruction bar on the left side.

ACTION STEPS

1. You may want to photocopy or print a second set of these forms before you start so you will have a clean copy if you need to start over.

2. When you begin to fill out the forms, refer to the gray instruction bars — they will guide you through the process.

3. Talk with your family, friends, and physicians about your advance Be sure the person you appoint to make decisions on your behalf understands your wishes.

4. Once the form is completed and signed, photocopy the form and give it to the person you have appointed to make decisions on your behalf, your family, friends, health care providers and/or faith leaders so that the form is available in the event of an emergency.

5. You may also want to save a copy of your form in an online personal health records application, program, or service that allows you to share your medical documents with your physicians, family, and others who you want to take an active role in your advance care planning.

Introduction to Your New Hampshire Advance Directive

This packet contains a legal document, a New Hampshire Advance Directive, that protects your right to refuse medical treatment you do not want, or to request treatment you do want, in the event you lose the ability to make decisions yourself.

You may fill out Part I, Part II, or both, depending on your advance planning needs. You must complete Part III.

Part I is the New HampshirePowerof Attorney for Health Care. This part lets you name an adult, called your agent, to make decisions about your health care— including decisions about life-sustaining treatments—if you can no longer speak for yourself. The power of attorney for health care is especially useful because it appoints someone to speak for you any time you are unable to make your own health care decisions, not only at the end of life.

Part I also allows you to express your desires regarding your health care and other advance planning decisions, including your desires regarding life-sustaining treatments, in order to help guide your agent.

Part I goes into effect when your doctor certifies in writing that you are no longer able to understand and appreciate generally the nature and consequences of your health care decision.

Part II is a New Hampshire Declaration, which is your state’s living will. The declaration in Part II is limited to a statement that you want life-sustaining treatment withheld or withdrawn if you are near death or permanently unconscious. If this is not your choice, you should not complete Part II. In addition, because Part II is limited in this way and Part I allows you to express a broader range of choices, if you plan to complete Part I, you may wish to leave Part II blank and record your advance planning wishes in Part I only.

Part II goes into effect when your doctor and one other doctor certify that you are permanently unconscious or near death.

Part III contains the signature and witnessing provisions so that your document will be effective.

Following the advance directive is an Organ Donation Form.

This form does not expressly address mental illness. If you would like to make advance care plans regarding mental illness, you should talk to your physician and an attorney about a durable power of attorney tailored to your needs.

Note: These documents will be legally binding only if the person completing them is a competent adult who is at least 18 years of age.

Instructions for Completing Your New Hampshire Advance Directive
How do I make my Advance Directive legal?

In order to make your Advance Directive legally binding you have two options:

1. Sign your document in the presence of two Neither of your witnesses can be:
   • your agent,
   • your spouse,
   • your heir or any person entitled to any part of your estate, or
   • your attending physician or Advanced Registered Nurse Practioner (ARNP), or any person acting under the direction and control of your attending physician or ARNP.

In addition, one of your witnesses cannot be:

• your health or residential care provider, or
• an employee of your health or residential care provider

OR

2. Sign your document in the presence of a notary public or justice of the peace.

Who should I appoint as my agent?

Your agent is the person you appoint to make decisions about your health care if you become unable to make those decisions yourself. Your agent may be a family member or a close friend whom you trust to make serious decisions. The person you name as your agent should clearly understand your wishes and be willing to accept the responsibility of making health care decisions for you.

You can appoint a second person as your alternate agent. The alternate will step in if the first person you name as an agent is unable, unwilling, or unavailable to act for you.

Your agent and alternate agent cannot be:

• your health care or residential care provider,
• an employee of your health care or residential care provider, unless such person is related to you

Should I add personal instructions to my Advance Directive?

One of the strongest reasons for naming an agent is to have someone who can respond flexibly as your health care situation changes and deal with situations that you did not foresee. If you add instructions to this document it may help your agent carry out your wishes, but be careful that you do not unintentionally restrict your agent’s power to act

in your best interest. In any event, be sure to talk with your agent about your future medical care and describe what you consider to be an acceptable “quality of life.”

What if I change my mind?

You can revoke you advance directive by:

1. A written revocation delivered to your agent or to your health care provider or residential care provider that expresses your intent to revoke your advance directive and that is signed and dated by you.
2. Orally revoking your advance directive in the presence of two or more witnesses, none of whom is your spouse or heir.
3. Any other act evidencing your intent to revoke the advance directive, such as burning, tearing, or obliterating the advance directive, or directing somebody else to destroy the document in your presence.
4. Executing a new advance directive.

If you named your spouse as your agent, filing an action for divorce, legal separation, annulment, or a protective order against your spouse will automatically revoke your spouse’s authority as agent, unless you specify otherwise in the “additional instructions” section on page 11 of your form.

What other important facts should I know?

Your agent does not have the power to authorize any of the following:

• Voluntary admission to any state institution;
• Voluntary sterilization;
• Withholding life-sustaining treatment if you are pregnant, unless, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty, as certified by your doctor and an obstetrician who has examined you, such treatment will not aid in the continuing development and live birth of your fetus or it will be physically harmful to you or prolong severe pain which cannot be alleviated by medication.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE — PAGE 1 OF 11

INFORMATION CONCERNING THE DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE (PART I)

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT LEGAL DOCUMENT. BEFORE SIGNING IT, YOU SHOULD KNOW THESE IMPORTANT FACTS:

Except to the extent you state otherwise in the directive, this directive gives the person you name as your health care agent the power to make any and all health care decisions for you when you lack the capacity to make health care decisions for yourself. “Health care” means any treatment, service or procedure to maintain, diagnose or treat your physical or mental condition. Your health care agent, therefore, will have the power to make a wide range of health care decisions for you. Your health care agent may consent, refuse to consent, or withdraw consent to medical treatment, and may make decisions about withdrawing or withholding life-sustaining treatment.

Your health care agent cannot consent or direct any of the following: commitment to a state institution, sterilization, or termination of treatment if you are pregnant and if the withdrawal of that treatment is deemed likely to terminate the pregnancy, unless the treatment will be physically harmful to you or prolong severe pain which cannot be alleviated by medication.

You may state in this directive any treatment you do not want, or treatment you want to be sure you receive. Your health care agent’s power will begin when your doctor certifies that you lack the capacity to make health care decisions. If for moral or religious reasons you do not want to be treated by a doctor or examined by a doctor to certify that you lack capacity, you must say so in the directive and you must name someone who can certify your lack of capacity. That person cannot be your health care agent or alternate health care agent or any person who is not eligible to be your health care agent. You may attach additional pages to the document if you need more space to complete your statement.

Under no conditions will your agent be able to direct the withholding of food and drink that you are able to eat and drink normally.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE — PAGE 2 OF 11

Your agent shall be directed by your written instructions in this document when making decisions on your behalf, and as further guided by your medical condition and prognosis. Unless you state otherwise in the directive, your agent will have the same power to make decisions about your health care as you would have had, if those decisions by your health care agent are made consistent with state law.

It is important that you discuss this directive with your doctor or other health care providers before you sign it, to make sure that you understand the nature and range of decisions which may be made for you by your health care agent. If you do not have a health care provider, you should talk with someone else who is knowledgeable about these issues and can answer your questions. Check with your community hospital or hospice for trained staff. You do not need a lawyer’s assistance to complete this directive, but if there is anything in this directive that you do not understand, you should ask a lawyer to explain it to you.

The person you appoint as your health care agent should be someone you know and trust, and he or she must be at least 18 years old. If you choose your health or residential care provider (such as your doctor, advanced registered nurse practitioner, or an employee of a hospital, nursing home, home health agency, or residential care home, other than a relative), that person will have to choose between acting as your agent or as your health or residential care provider, because the law does not allow a person to do both at the same time.

You should consider choosing an alternate health care agent, in case your health care agent is unwilling, unable, unavailable or not eligible to act as your health care agent. Any alternate health care agent you choose will then have the same authority to make health care decisions for you.

You should tell the person you choose that you want him or her to be your health care agent. You should talk about this directive with your health care agent and your doctor or advanced registered nurse practitioner and give each one a signed copy. You should write on the directive itself the people and institutions who will have signed copies. Your health care agent will not be liable for health care decisions made in good faith on your behalf.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE — PAGE 3 OF 11

EVEN AFTER YOU HAVE SIGNED THIS DIRECTIVE, YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE HEALTH CARE DECISIONS FOR YOURSELF AS LONG AS YOU ARE ABLE TO DO SO, AND TREATMENT CANNOT BE GIVEN TO OR STOPPED OVER YOUR CLEAR OBJECTION. You have the right to revoke the power given to your health care agent by telling him or her, or by telling your health care provider, orally or in writing, that you no longer want that person to be your health care agent.

YOU HAVE THE RIGHT TO EXCLUDE OR STRIKE REFERENCES TO ARNP’S IN YOUR ADVANCE DIRECTIVE AND IF YOU DO SO, YOUR ADVANCE DIRECTIVE SHALL STILL BE VALID AND ENFORCEABLE.

Once this directive is executed it cannot be changed or modified. If you want to make changes, you must make an entirely new directive.

THIS POWER OF ATTORNEY WILL NOT BE VALID UNLESS IT IS SIGNED IN THE PRESENCE OF A NOTARY PUBLIC OR JUSTICE OF THE PEACE OR TWO (2) OR MORE QUALIFIED WITNESSES, WHO MUST BOTH BE PRESENT WHEN YOU SIGN AND WHO WILL ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR SIGNATURE ON THE DOCUMENT. THE FOLLOWING PERSONS MAY NOT ACT AS WITNESSES:

• The person you have designated as your health care agent;
• Your spouse or heir at law;
• Your attending physician or ARNP, or person acting under the direction or control of the attending physician or ARNP;

ONLY ONE OF THE TWO WITNESSES MAY BE YOUR HEALTH OR RESIDENTIAL CARE PROVIDER OR ONE OF YOUR PROVIDER’S EMPLOYEES.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE — PAGE 4 OF 11

PART I: NEW HAMPSHIRE DURABLE POWER OF ATTORNEY FOR HEALTH CARE

as my agent to make any and all health care decisions for me, except to the extent I state otherwise in this directive or as prohibited by law. This durable power of attorney for health care shall take effect in the event I lack the capacity to make my own health care decisions.

In the event the person I appoint above is unable, unwilling or unavailable, or ineligible to act as my health care agent, I hereby appoint

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE — PAGE 5 OF 11

STATEMENT OF DESIRES, SPECIAL PROVISIONS, AND LIMITATIONS REGARDING HEALTH CARE DECISIONS.

For your convenience in expressing your wishes, some general statements concerning the withholding or removal of life-sustaining treatment are set forth below. (Life- sustaining treatment is defined as procedures without which a person would die, such as but not limited to the following: mechanical respiration, kidney dialysis or the use of other external mechanical and technological devices, drugs to maintain blood pressure, blood transfusions, and antibiotics.) There is also a section which allows you to set forth specific directions for these or other matters. If you wish, you may indicate your agreement or disagreement with any of the following statements and give your agent power to act in those specific circumstances.

A. LIFE-SUSTAINING TREATMENT.

1. If I am near death and lack the capacity to make health care decisions, I authorize my agent to direct that:

(Initial beside your choice of (a) or (b).)

2. Whether near death or not, if I become permanently unconscious I authorize my agent to direct that:

(Initial beside your choice of (a) or (b).)

B. MEDICALLY ADMINISTERED NUTRITION AND HYDRATION.

1. I realize that situations could arise in which the only way to allow me to die would be to not start or to discontinue medically administered nutrition and hydration. In carrying out any instructions I have given in this document, I authorize my agent to direct that:

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE — PAGE 6 OF 11

C. ADDITIONAL INSTRUCTIONS.

Here you may include any specific desires or limitations you deem appropriate, such as when or what life-sustaining treatment you would want used or withheld, or instructions about refusing any specific types of treatment that are inconsistent with your religious beliefs or are unacceptable to you for any other reason. You may leave this question blank if you desire.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE – PAGE 7 OF 11
PART II. NEW HAMPSHIRE DECLARATION

being of sound mind, willfully and voluntarily make known my desire that my dying shall not be artificially prolonged under the circumstances set forth below, do hereby declare:

If at any time I should have an incurable injury, disease or illness and I am certified to be near death or in a permanently unconscious condition by 2 physicians or a physician and an ARNP, and two physicians or a physician and an ARNP have determined that my death is imminent whether or not life-sustaining treatment is utilized and where the application of life- sustaining treatment would serve only to artificially prolong the dying process, or that I will remain in a permanently unconscious condition, I direct that such procedures be withheld or withdrawn, and that I be permitted to die naturally with only the administration of medication, the natural ingestion of food or fluids by eating or drinking, or the performance of any medical procedure deemed necessary to provide me with comfort care. I realize that situations could arise in which the only way to allow me to die would be to discontinue medically administered nutrition and hydration. 

In carrying out any instruction I have given under this section, I authorize that:

(Initial beside your choice of (a) or (b).)

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE — PAGE 8 OF 11

Other directions:

In the absence of my ability to give directions regarding the use of such life-sustaining treatment, it is my intention that this declaration shall be honored by my family and health care providers as the final expression of my right to refuse medical or surgical treatment and accept the consequences of such refusal.

I understand the full meaning and significance of this declaration, and I am emotionally and mentally competent to make this declaration.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE – PAGE 9 OF 11

PART III: EXECUTION

This advance directive will not be valid unless it is EITHER:

Alternative No. 1: Signed by two (2) adult witnesses who are present when you sign or acknowledge your signature.

Neither of your witnesses can be:

• your agent,
• your spouse,
• your heir or any person entitled to any part of your estate either under your last will and testament or by operation of law,
• your attending physician or ARNP, or person acting under the direction and control of your attending physician or ARNP.

In addition, one of your witnesses cannot be:

• your health or residential care provider, or an employee of your health or residential care provider

OR

Alternative No. 2: Witnessed by a notary public or justice of the peace

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE – PAGE 10 OF 11

Alternative No. 1: Sign before witnesses.

Witness 1:

Witness 2:

NEW HAMPSHIRE ADVANCE DIRECTIVE – PAGE 11 OF 11

AlternativeNo.2: Sign before a notary public or justice of the peace.

NEW HAMPSHIRE ORGAN DONATION FORM – PAGE 1 OF 1

Initial the line next to the statement below that best reflects your wishes. You do not have to initial any of the statements. If you do not initial any of the statements, your attorney for health care, proxy, or other agent, or your family, may have the authority to make a gift of all or part of your body under New Hampshire law.

You Have Filled Out Your Health Care Directive, Now What?

1. Your New Hampshire Advance Directive is an important legal Keep the original signed document in a secure but accessible place. Do not put the original document in a safe deposit box or any other security box that would keep others from having access to it.

2. Give photocopies of the signed original to your agent and alternate agent, doctor(s), family, close friends, clergy, and anyone else who might become involved in your health If you enter a nursing home or hospital, have photocopies of your document placed in your medical records.

3. Be sure to talk to your agent(s), doctor(s), clergy, family, and friends about your wishes concerning medical treatment. Discuss your wishes with them often, particularly if your medical condition changes.

4. You may also want to save a copy of your form in an online personal health records application, program, or service that allows you to share your medical documents with your physicians, family, and others who you want to take an active role in your advance care planning.

5. If you want to make changes to your documents after they have been signed and witnessed, you must complete a new document.

6. Remember, you can always revoke your New Hampshire document.

7. Be aware that your New Hampshire document will not be effective in the event of a medical emergency. Ambulance and hospital emergency department personnel are required to provide cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) unless they are given a separate directive that states These directives called “prehospital medical care directives” or “do not resuscitate orders” are designed for people whose poor health gives them little chance of benefiting from CPR. These directives instruct ambulance and hospital emergency personnel not to attempt CPR if your heart or breathing should stop.

Currently not all states have laws authorizing these orders. We suggest you speak to your physician if you are interested in obtaining one.