In this day and age many Americans are living longer and happier lives due to the advances in technology. 1 out of every 3 children that are born today will live to reach 100 years old. With the advances in medication even the sickly can live a somewhat normal live however medication cannot save everyone, unfortunately when it is your time to go there is nothing that can stop it. When Mother Nature is ready for you the only thing that can be done is to make sure all arrangements are put into place. An advance health care directive can ease a situation like this by taking the stress and confusion from loved ones. When people know the end is near and the patient is no longer able to make decisions then an advance directive will allow a person to make all final decisions regarding health arrangements. An Advance Health Care Directive, also known as a living will is a set of written instructions designed to legally appoint someone to make decisions for medical treatment on the behave of a patient due to illness or incapacity in advance about end of life care. It covers three conditions; terminal condition, persistently unconscious and end-stage condition. An advance directive is only valid if it complies with the state law requirements, it must also be signed by any person that is at least 18 years of age with a sound mind before two witnesses that are at least 18 years of age as well and they are not to be beneficiaries of the will of the patient. present and it also has to be determined by two physicians that a patient is terminally ill. This is put in place so that when a patient is unable to make decisions they are still in control. A power of attorney for health care decisions is also good to have as well because it gives written instructions for a person that a patient chooses to make health care decisions in the event that a patient is unable to speak for themselves. Unlike the living will the power of attorney can be effective any time a patient is unable to make decisions. Most social workers would advise a patient to have both a living will and a power of attorney. The living will gives clear directions on how the physician and the agent are to carry out the wishes of a patient. The power of attorney allows immediate action with no delays from the courts in cases where the living will does not apply. If a power of attorney for health care is not appointed someone other than the person that the patient has chosen may make health care decisions on their behave. Many people believe that death is better than depending on medical equipment or not having a certain quality of life. Others are willing to take the extreme measures and use technology to extend life as long as possible. For this reason it is very important to have an advance directive in place. It is also beneficial to choose the right person to carry out the wishes of the patient. I remember when my mother-in-law decided to pick a person to carry out her wishes in the event she was unable to make health care decisions she chose her mother and my husband was upset about this decision. He felt that he should have been the person that she chose but she chose her mother because she knew her son would let her live on a ventilator machine for a long time with the hope that she will come out of the situation and her mother will not allow her to suffer. End of life decisions can be a grey area because some believe that carrying out a patient’s decision to not be put on a breathing machine or for a patient to be in an induced coma is assisted suicide. Many people also believe that when the end is near they would prefer not to have their loved ones given any artificial nutrition with a feeding tube. When a patient is in hospice care it is best to have an advance directive in place so that the focus can be on bringing comfort, self-respect and tranquility for the person that is at the end of life. Hospice believes that when the end is near it should not be a