Michigan residents can now ensure their health care wishes are accessible to loved ones and health care providers, no matter where they travel in the United States.

Our state’s older adult population is growing rapidly. By 2030, nearly one in four Michigan residents will be age 60 or older. Residents are also living longer. The fastest-growing segment of Michigan’s population is age 85 or older.

As our senior population grows, we must ensure that we continue to meet their needs with simple services that enable them to live healthy, happy and independent lives.

One way we have helped is creating the Michigan Peace of Mind registry, where people can set up an account and store their advance directives online. These legal documents allow individuals to specify their patient advocates, religious preferences and other decisions about their future health care ahead of time.

It is unfortunate that an illness or injury may leave any individual — and especially an older person — unable to make important health care decisions.

I supported the legislation to create this registry — the first of its kind in the country — so that our seniors can make these important choices in advance and make sure that their health care wishes are known and honored.

Before the registry, there was no way for health care providers in the state to directly access their patients’ advance directives.

Residents can visit www.mipeaceofmind.org for more information on this free and secure database. The site also features frequently asked questions and links to resources.

The registry is maintained through the generous financial support of Michigan’s Gift of Life Foundation. It marks a substantial improvement in ensuring that our seniors’ loved ones and doctors will have access to the critical and extremely personal decisions regarding end-of-life and health care decisions when it is necessary.

In doing so, we can offer them true peace of mind.

 

Sen. John Proos, R-St. Joseph, represents Southwest Michigan.