The Health and Safety Committee has been tasked with analyzing the most severe and pressing health issues affecting aging Arizonans. These issues include the growing impact of Alzheimer’s and related dementias on our population, the devastation of senior falls, and the enormous demand for our first responders by our aging population.

Health care advance directives have been a significant issue of discussion too. First of all, without exception, all Arizonans aged 18 and older should have at least their essential living will and powers of attorney executed. But, unfortunately, there is a significant misconception that only aging adults should have their advanced planning done.

ALL adults should take responsibility and have these documents in order. So with that being said, in this committee, we envisioned that all Arizonans should have their wishes expressed. In addition, there should be a way for these advanced care planning documents to be available to emergency health care workers and first responders when needed.

However, we needed a viable way to allow our citizens to file their documents into the statewide electronic health care record.

Enter Health Current. They have been tasked with providing the state with electronic health records. This means that our records are available to all who have access to the electronic health information system, including first responders and healthcare workers.