IOWA — Denise Nicholson, a registered nurse at Emplify Health by Gundersen, advocates for advance care planning, stating that adults of any age can face medical emergencies. She said establishing advance care directives ensures healthcare preferences are respected.

"They talk about it as 65 or older, but at any given time, 18 and above, we could have a medical emergency, accident, or illness, and someone's no longer able to make their own medical decisions," Nicholson said. She added, "I like to refer to it more as how do I want to live, not so much how do I want to die."

"Having an advance care directive, a power of attorney for health care, is our best defense to not needing to have the court appoint a guardian, someone to make our decisions for us, who may or may not be somebody that we know, and could actually be the very person we -don't- want to make decisions for us," Nicholson said. A medical power of attorney allows an adult to give another person the power to make health care decisions on their behalf.

Nicholson said when no conversation has taken place, everyone has their own opinion and the patient cannot be heard. "It can certainly ease the tension and the emotions surrounding it," she said. "I have seen a lot of families pulled apart when planning doesn't take place."