Health Care Proxy Campaign, MA Department of Public Health (MA DPH)

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 DPH Health Care Proxy Campaign helps to ensure equal access to care planning information and documents for everyone in the Commonwealth. Everyone is welcome to participate!

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 structured approach to health care planning with free, downloadable multilingual documents and tools.

MA DPH Comissioner Robert Goldstein states that adults, 18 years old and older, can choose a Health Care Agent and complete a Health Care Proxy. Read more here.

The Honoring Choices QUICK START page makes it easy to:

Choose a trusted person to be your Health Care Agent. (See videos in 4 languages).
Download and complete a free Health Care Proxy document (available in 16 languages).
Share your completed Health Care Proxy with your doctors and care teams to place in your medical record
- Talk about care that's right for you. Download Consumer Conversation Guides.

Not able to choose a Health Care Agent? That's Okay.

Download a Personal Directive or Living Will document (available in 5 languages). You can write down your care preferences and share with your doctors and care team.

Join the MHA Simple Step Campaign: Cross Continuum Initiative

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

Be a Trusted Messenger. Share the Consumer Handout.

Download and distribute the free, multilingual "Who is Your Health Care Agent?" Consumer Handout and care planning documents in your community Help promote equal access to reliable, accurate care planning information.

Every health care and community organization, faith-based group and school can be a trusted source of health care planning information in your community. Download and distribute the Who Is Your Health Care Agent? Consumer Handout (available in 9 languages), to help adults choose a Health Care Agent and complete a Health Care Proxy. You choose which multilingual handouts are best for your community. We can co-brand the handouts with your organization’s logo and add a QR code if you like at no cost. Cost. We'll post your organization below. For more information, contact Ellen, edipaola@honoringchoicesmass.com

Here are some of the Honoring Choices Partners & Friends who have tailored the consumer handouts and care planning tools for adults in their community.

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.

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.