Univera Healthcare officials are looking to prompt the beginning of advance care planning conversations between adults and their physicians or nurse practitioners.

“Conversations change lives,” said Dr. Patricia Bomba, vice president of geriatrics at Univera Healthcare.

“Advance care planning lets you authorize someone you trust to make your health care decisions if or when you can’t make them yourself.”

Univera officials said all adults ages 18 and older to start conversations with their health care providers and then extend them to family members and trusted friends.

It’s not just for older adults or for people with a serious illness, noted Bomba. Anyone can suddenly lose the ability to make his/her own medical decisions about the treatment they wish to receive, and what they would like to avoid.

The ultimate goal is for all adults to have conversations and complete a health care proxy to choose and formally name a health care agent who is aware of their values, beliefs and goals for care and treatment and is willing to speak on their behalf.

Nearly nine out of 10 upstate New York adults are aware of the term, “health care proxy,” according to a survey commissioned by Univera.

Among respondents who had heard the term, 89 percent know that it is a way to legally designate someone as their health care agent to represent them during a medical crisis if they can’t speak for themselves.

Despite high awareness and knowledge of the health care proxy term, the survey also revealed that about four out of 10 upstate New York adults have completed a health care proxy form to designate a spokesperson who will represent them if they can’t represent themselves.

“That’s disappointing,” said Bomba, “because so many people have had the experience of making gut-wrenching medical decisions for loved ones who were unable to communicate.”

According to Bomba, advance care planning can make those decisions easier. It always seems too early, until it’s too late.:

Bomba breaks advance care planning down into five steps:

¯ Learn about advance directives New York state health care proxy and living will.

¯Remove barriers to completing advance directives.

¯ Complete a health care proxy and living will. Talk to family and physician or nurse practitioner.

¯ Periodically review and update advance directives.

“Your family, friends and physicians need to know your preferences for medical care,” said Bomba. “Advance care planning gives you peace of mind in knowing that your wishes for care will be represented, and the conversations it stimulates also give your loved ones the confidence they’ll need to be able to speak for you.”