Public, Teammates Encouraged to Create Advance Directives

ROME, Ga., April 14, 2025 – If you could not speak for yourself, do you know who would be legally responsible for making your medical choices? Without an advance directive, your legal next of kin is your decision-maker – that's the law. While that works for many people, often a different decision-maker is desired.

That is why Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center is holding an advance directive signing event at Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center on Wednesday, April 16, National Health Care Decisions Day.

The events will be held from 10 a.m. to noon and 2 to 4 p.m. at Stuenkel Conference Center on the first floor of the hospital and at the Orthopedic Rehabilitation Gym on the fourth floor.

“An advance directive is used to help your family, friends and clinical caregivers know your wishes in the event you cannot make your wishes known in a health crisis," said Chris Barbieri, an Atrium Health Floyd chaplain. “Too many people wait to act, leaving loved ones guessing about their preferences. It can cause a lot of stress among families."

An advance directive also lets patients provide guidance about whether they want aggressive treatments like CPR, life-support and feeding tubes, if something catastrophic happens.

Attendees will be invited and encouraged to complete and sign their own advance directive.

“We specifically themed the event after National Signing Day, when high school football players sign with their chosen college teams," Barbieri said. “Just like players are making their decisions about their future known, we encourage everyone to have an advance directive and to inform their loved ones about their decision."

Even healthy individuals can benefit from completing an advance directive. It can give them the opportunity to reflect on their own personal values and ensures peace of mind knowing their wishes have been made known, he said.

“At Atrium Health Floyd, we encourage every patient who is 18 or older to at least think about an advance directive," Barbieri said. “We care about our community and have planned this event to offer this opportunity to learn, take control over your health care decisions and identify what matters most in your medical journey."

​About Atrium Health Floyd
The Atrium Health Floyd family of health care services is a leading medical provider and economic force in northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd is part of Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health, the third-largest nonprofit health system in the United States, created from the combination of Atrium Health and Advocate Aurora Health. Atrium Health Floyd strategically combined with Harbin Clinic in 2024 and employs more than 5,200 teammates who provide care in over 40 medical specialties at four facilities: Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center – a 361-bed full-service, acute care hospital and regional referral center in Rome, Georgia; Atrium Health Floyd Polk Medical Center in Cedartown, Georgia; and Atrium Health Floyd Cherokee Medical Center in Centre, Alabama; and Atrium Health Floyd Medical Center Behavioral Health, also in Rome. Together, Atrium Health Floyd and Harbin Clinic provide primary care, specialty care and urgent care throughout northwest Georgia and northeast Alabama. Atrium Health Floyd also operates a stand-alone emergency department in Chattooga County, the first such facility to be built from the ground-up in Georgia.

About Advocate Health 
Advocate Health is the third-largest nonprofit, integrated health system in the United States, created from the combination of Advocate Aurora Health and Atrium Health. Providing care under the names Advocate Health Care in Illinois; Atrium Health in the Carolinas, Georgia and Alabama; and Aurora Health Care in Wisconsin, Advocate Health is a national leader in clinical innovation, health outcomes, consumer experience and value-based care. Headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, Advocate Health services nearly 6 million patients and is engaged in hundreds of clinical trials and research studies, with Wake Forest University School of Medicine serving as the academic core of the enterprise. Advocate Health is nationally recognized for its expertise in heart and vascular, neurosciences, oncology, pediatrics and rehabilitation, as well as organ transplants, burn treatments and specialized musculoskeletal programs. Advocate Health employs more than 160,000 teammates across 69 hospitals and over 1,000 care locations and offers one of the nation's largest graduate medical education programs with over 2,000 residents and fellows across more than 200 programs. Committed to redefining care for all, Advocate Health provides more than $6 billion in annual community benefits.