Newport Hospital Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center
Legal Documents
The Vanderbilt Rehabilitation Center at Newport Hospital is required by law
to inform you about your legal right to make decisions about your own medical
care, including your right to decide whether to accept or refuse medical
treatment.
We are also required to ask you if you have signed an advance directive,
which is a written document that has been made before serious illness or trauma.
An advance directive can be either a living will or a durable power of attorney
for health care. These documents state wishes for health care should you become
unable to make those decisions, and the state of Rhode Island recognizes
both.
We explain the difference between the two documents in the following
paragraphs and our comparison table.
- A living will is a document through which you to tell your doctor
to withhold or withdraw life-sustaining medical procedures if you develop a
terminal condition and cannot communicate your wishes. Your instruction is
followed if your doctor determines that you have a terminal condition and
you are unable to make or state your treatment decisions when they must be
made.
- A durable power of attorney for health care is a document in which
you name another person to make health care decisions if you become unable
to make those decisions yourself. The person you name will have legal
authority to make the medical treatment choices you would have made for
yourself if you had been able to do so.
If your medical condition changes while you're at the Vanderbilt
Rehabilitation Center, we may transfer you to an acute care hospital where you
will be given an appropriate level of care for your condition.
If you would like more information regarding advance directives, please speak
with your case manager.
Comparing legal options 
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