MADISON, Wis. (WTVO) — Sunday was “National Healthcare Decisions Day.”

Healthcare professionals use the day to educate the public on the importance of advance care planning. It is the process of planning ahead for future health care decisions so others know what kind of medical care that residents want in the event they cannot speak for themselves.

Most people do not have a plan in writing for who would make their healthcare decisions. Wisconsin is not a next-of-kin state, so the law does not allow them to make those decisions.

It may seem like a heavy topic, talking about death, but it is really about how a person wants to live.

“What does a good life mean to you? What does quality of life look like to you,” said Parini Tolat, advance care planning coordinator at UW Health. “It’s really a conversation about how you want to live, and so thinking about that, shifting the way we think about it, kind of helps demystify some of those fears around advance care planning.”

UW Health has resources available, including free public virtual workshops.