MA Department of Public Health (MA DPH)

Health Care Proxy Campaign

MA DPH partners with Honoring Choices MA and MA Health & Hospital Association to ensure every adult 18 and older can complete a Health Care Proxy.

Grid of 5 images showing pairs of people of all ages that could be acting as health care agents for each other.

Download a free Health Care Proxy and Consumer Handout

The MA Department of Public Health's Health Care Proxy Campaign helps to ensure equal access to care planning information and documents for everyone in the Commonwealth.

The MA Department of Public Health (MA DPH) has partnered with Honoring Choices MA and Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association (MHA) to support a statewide Health Care Proxy Campaign, using the Honoring Choices Who's Your Agent? structured approach to health care planning with free, downloadable multilingual documents and tools. Read announcement from MA DPH Commissioner Goldstein.

Everyone can download a free Health Care Proxy.

The Honoring Choices QUICKSTART page makes it easy to:

1. Choose a trusted person to be your Health Care Agent. (See videos in 4 languages).

2. Complete a Health Care Proxy document (available in 16 languages).

3. Share your completed Health Care Proxy with your doctors and care teams and talk about care that's right for you. Download Consumer Conversation Guides.

Not able to choose a Health Care Agent? That's Okay.
Start with a Personal Directive or Living Will document. You can write down your care preferences in a Personal Directive (Living Will) and share with your doctors and care team. Download a Personal Directive (available in 4 languages)

Help Your Community: Share the Consumer Handout for Equal Access to a Health Care Proxy

Download the Who Is Your Health Care Agent? Consumer Handout. (available in 9 languages).
- The consumer handout links to the Quick Start page to access a free multilingual Health Care Proxy and other tools.
Co-brand the multilingual consumer handout with your organization’s logo and QR code to tailor to your community. For more information, contact Ellen, edipaola@honoringchoicesmass.com

MHA Simple Step Campaign: Cross Continuum Initiative

MA Health & Hospital Association (MHA) and Cross Continuum Partners use the Simple Step Campaign to encourage all patients and families to take a simple step and complete a Health Care Proxy. Read more below and join the campaign here.

Be a Trusted Source of Information in Your Community!

Join us- Be a trusted source of health care planning information and distribute the consumer handout and planning documents to adults in your community. Support your staff in engaging adults in simple care planning conversations to choose a Health Care Agent and complete a Health Care Proxy and/or Personal Directive (Living Will).

Here are some of the Honoring Choices Partners & Friends who tailored the tools for their community. We can co-brand the multilingual consumer handouts with your organization’s logo and QR code at no cost. Cost. For more information, contact Ellen, edipaola@honoringchoicesmass.com

MA Health & Hospital Association Simple Step Campaign

All MA Hospitals and Cross-Continuum Professionals

Helps adults to take a simple step to complete a Health Care Proxy & Personal Directive (Living Will).

Sturdy Health

South Shore Patients, Primary Care & Care Management Staff

Provides co-branded handouts & Health Care Proxy in English, Spanish, Arabic, Portuguese, Haitian-Creole.

City of Lynn Public Health

Health Clinics, Flu Clinics, and Community Events in Lynn

Provides co-branded handouts in English, Spanish, Haitian-Creole, Khmer.

Dementia Friends MA

Dementia Friends MA Champions helping Adults & Families; Community Events

Provides handouts, planning tools; See Dementia Friends MA information flyer (10 languages)

MassNAELA Health Care Proxy Clinics

Brings Mobile Clinics to Community Health Centers

Provides documents & videos: English, Spanish, Portuguese, Haitian-Creole. Clarence Richardson, Clarence@MassNAELA.com

Life Care Advocates

Life Care Managers provide holistic services to navigate the aging journey.

Provides handouts Health Care Proxy & Personal Directive (Living Will).

Greater Springfield Senior Services

Consumer Presentations: "Now's the Time. Make Your Own Care Plan"

Provides adults with the Getting Started Tool Kit, multilingual documents.

Nantucket Palliative & Supportive Care

Adults & families and Community Events

Provides handouts, Getting Started Tool Kit, multilingual documents

LifePath, Western & North Central MA

Berkshire Consumer Healthy Living Workshops; Honoring Choices Ambassadors

Provides handouts, Health Care Proxy, Getting Started Tool Kit.

Your Elder Experts, JF&CS, Jewish Family & Children's Services of Greater Boston

Aging Life Care Managers helping Adults & Families

Provides care planning information and Health Care Proxy.

AgeSpan, North Shore

North Shore Housing Program Residents; Honoring Choices Ambassadors

Provides handouts, Health Care Proxy, Getting Started Tool Kit.

Abington Public Health

Health Clinics, Flu Clinics, Community Events in Abington

Provides co-branded handouts in English, Portuguese, Haitian-Creole, Vietnamese.

MA Health & Hosptial Association Simple Step: A Cross-Continuum Initiative

Your organization can help adults take a simple step to complete a Health Care Proxy.

Massachusetts Health and Hospital Association.

The Massachusetts Health & Hospital Association (MHA), Honoring Choices and leading cross-continuum organizations have come together to support the Simple Step Campaign, to engage every adult in a simple conversation to choose a Health Care Agent and complete a Health Care Proxy. If adults are not able to choose a Health Care Agent, care professionals can offer a Personal Directive (Living Will). The Personal Directive helps adults write down their care preferences and share with their care providers.

It's easy to include the Simple Step Campaign to your organization's workflow. MHA provides the no cost Simple Step campaign materials, Honoring Choices multi-lingual planning documents and tool kits, and a 30 minute staff training to confidently engage adults in simple conversations.

Join us! All community groups and health care systems are very welcome to join the campaign. Let's ensure every adult across the Commonwealth has early and equal access to health care planning.