Centegra Health System is participating in a grassroots effort to promote advance care planning and healthcare decision-making. The National Healthcare Decisions Day (NHDD) is scheduled for April 14, 2011.Joining the 75 national organizations participating in National Healthcare Decisions Day are more than 370 state and community organizations; including healthcare providers, aging service organizations, attorneys, financial planners and other service organizations.Centegra Health System Chaplain Ron Hahn wishes to stress the importance of having an advance medical directive for healthcare. Centegra chaplains will provide information at each hospital in the main lobbies from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.  Advance medical directive forms for healthcare will also be available at Centegra Primary Care offices in Woodstock, Crystal Lake, Huntley, McHenry and Spring Grove.National Healthcare Decisions Day is an initiative to encourage everyone to express their wishes regarding healthcare through conversations and the completion of advance medical directives. NHDD is also working with providers and facilities to ensure that individual wishes are respected, whatever they may be.”We are blown away by the number of organizations participating and the amount of attention they have generated leading up to April 16,”  said Kathy Brandt, vice president of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization and a member of the NHDD executive committee. “The response demonstrates that even several years after Terri Schiavo’s death, Americans are still struggling with advance care planning.Centegra Health System is committed to meeting the healthcare needs of the residents of greater McHenry County and to making services available in multiple and convenient locations, including hospitals in McHenry and Woodstock, Immediate and Primary Care centers, Centegra Sage Cancer Center, Health Bridge Fitness Centers and more. As the region’s leading healthcare provider, Centegra Health System continues to bring the latest treatments and technology, along with the skills of nearly 4,000 medical professionals, to meet the needs of the growing McHenry County community. For more information on Centegra Health System search Centegra Health System on Facebook or Twitter or call 877-CENTEGRA (877-236-8347).