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You Planned

Your Wealth.

Did You Plan

Your Voice?

by Kristine Jordan, DHA, BSN, RN, NEA-BC
n Naples, we are a community that But with that capability comes a more complicated question and
plans well. We build thoughtfully, invest one we often avoid:
Istrategically, and protect what matters. We Just because we can, should we?
anticipate risk, diversify portfolios, and make What does “quality of life” actually mean to you?
decisions today to safeguard tomorrow. What outcomes would you accept and which would you not?
And yet, when it comes to healthcare At what point does extending life no longer align with how you
decisions at the most critical moments of our would want to live it? Ultimately, what matters most to you?
lives, many of the same people who plan everything leave the These are not easy conversations. But they are defining ones.
most personal decisions of all undefined. Because the true burden placed on families in these moments is
Not legally. Emotionally. not logistical, it is emotional. It is the weight of wondering, Did we
I was recently involved in the care of a man in his 40s who do what they would have wanted? It is the possibility of carrying
suffered a massive, unexpected healthcare event. One day he was doubt long after the decisions have been made.
working, living, making plans. The next, he was unable to speak, In the case of that man in his 40s, care moved forward.
unable to participate in his own care, and entirely dependent on Decisions were made. But not with unity. Not with peace. And
others to decide what would happen to him. perhaps not in full alignment with what he would have chosen for
His family gathered quickly. They loved him deeply. They himself.
wanted to do the right thing. His wishes were not known. And because of that, they could
But they did not agree on what “the right thing” was. not truly be met.
There was no roadmap, only fragments of past conversations, We plan our financial legacies with precision. But our
vague recollections, and differing interpretations of what he healthcare decisions, arguably the most personal expression of our
might have wanted. One family member insisted he would “want values, are often left unspoken.
everything done.” Another was certain he would never want to The most important planning you can do is not just on paper.
live in a state of profound dependency. The room became tense. It is in conversation.
Emotional. Fractured. Clear. Specific. Unmistakable.
And beneath it all was a quiet, unspoken truth: Because one day, the people who love you most may have to
No one actually knew. speak on your behalf.
This is where even the most prepared families become And what they carry into that moment will matter more than
unprepared. anything you ever signed.
Because having documents is not the same as having clarity. Dr. Kristine Jordan is a board-certified nurse executive and Market
A healthcare surrogate, power of attorney, or even a DNR Director of Admissions for a national hospice organization, where she
can make decisions, but they cannot create certainty where none leads clinical teams and supports patients and families through some of
exists. They cannot replace the specificity of a conversation that life’s most complex healthcare decisions. With a background spanning
never happened. And in the absence of that clarity, decisions emergency/trauma care and executive leadership in home health, case
are often made not from confidence, but from fear, guilt, or management, and hospice, she brings both clinical expertise and a deeply
disagreement. human perspective to her work. She also serves as an adjunct professor
Modern medicine has given us extraordinary capabilities. We and course writer in healthcare administration and nursing, focused on
can sustain life in ways that were unimaginable a generation ago. leadership, ethics, and patient-centered care.

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