Making Healthcare Decisions for Someone Else in Grand Rapids, Michigan

When a loved one in Grand Rapids is too sick, injured, or confused to make their own medical decisions, family members or other trusted people may be asked to step in. Understanding how this works in Michigan can make a difficult situation less stressful and help ensure your loved one receives care that matches their values and wishes.

Grand Rapids residents often receive care through major health systems like Spectrum Health, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, Metro Health, or Mercy Health, and these providers follow Michigan law when it comes to substitute decision-making and advance care planning.

Emergency vs. Non‑Emergency Medical Decisions

In a Medical Emergency

If there is a true medical emergency—such as a serious car accident on US‑131, a heart attack during a West Michigan winter storm, or a life‑threatening stroke—the treating doctors can make urgent decisions without waiting for a family member to consent. This may include:

  • Starting life support or breathing machines
  • Giving life‑saving medications
  • Performing emergency surgery
  • Ordering tests and procedures needed to stabilize the patient

This applies whether you are taken to Spectrum Health Butterworth Hospital, Trinity Health Grand Rapids, or another local emergency department.

In Non‑Emergency Situations

When the situation is not an emergency, and there is time to talk, the doctor in charge of care will:

  1. Explain the medical condition
  2. Review the treatment options and likely outcomes
  3. Ask the patient (if able) or a medical decision maker to choose a plan

If the patient cannot make an informed decision, a legally authorized medical decision maker will be asked to decide on their behalf.

When You Cannot Make Your Own Medical Decisions

You may be unable to make medical decisions because of:

  • A serious injury (for example, after a winter fall on ice)
  • Advanced dementia or memory problems
  • Confusion, delirium, or loss of consciousness
  • A severe mental health crisis
  • Being under heavy sedation or anesthesia

In these cases, Michigan law allows another person to make healthcare decisions for you. This person should follow your known wishes, values, and beliefs as closely as possible.

Appointing a Medical Decision Maker in Michigan

In Michigan, you can legally appoint someone to make healthcare decisions for you if you become unable to decide for yourself. This is commonly done through a legal document called a Patient Advocate Designation or durable power of attorney for healthcare.

Who You Can Appoint

You can choose:

  • A spouse or domestic partner
  • An adult child
  • A parent
  • An adult sibling
  • A close friend or trusted person in your life

This person does not have to live in Grand Rapids, but it often helps if they are close by and familiar with local hospitals and clinics.

What Your Medical Decision Maker Must Do

Your appointed medical decision maker (patient advocate) is obligated to act in your best interest and, as much as possible, to:

  • Honor your medical preferences
  • Respect your values, culture, and religious beliefs
  • Make the decision they believe you would have made

They should consider not just physical health, but also your overall personal and social wellbeing—for example, your desire to remain at home, stay active in your church or community, or avoid long stays in a nursing facility.

If You Do Not Appoint a Medical Decision Maker

If you become unable to make decisions and you have not legally appointed someone, Michigan law provides a typical order of who will be asked to decide, such as:

  1. A court‑appointed guardian (if one exists)
  2. Your spouse or domestic partner
  3. Your primary caregiver
  4. Your adult child
  5. Your parent
  6. Your adult sibling

In most cases in Grand Rapids, this will be a family member or your primary carer who has a close and continuing relationship with you.

If more than one person is at the same level (for example, two adult children), medical teams will usually work with the family to identify a primary decision maker. When relatives disagree, a court or legal advice may be needed.

Talking About Wishes Before a Crisis

Whether you are appointing someone or being appointed as someone else’s medical decision maker, conversation ahead of time is essential. These discussions are especially important in West Michigan, where older adults may face seasonal risks like falls on ice, winter respiratory illnesses, and heart strain from shoveling snow.

Talk about:

  1. What health outcomes matter most?

    • Is it more important to live as long as possible, or to maintain independence and comfort?
    • How do they feel about living in a nursing home versus staying at home with help?

  2. What trade‑offs are they willing to make?

    • Would they accept major surgery, dialysis, or a feeding tube to prolong life?
    • Would they want aggressive treatment if it meant a long ICU stay at a Grand Rapids hospital?

  3. What are their fears or worries?

    • Are they afraid of pain? Being a burden on family? Losing mental clarity?
    • How do they feel about being on machines like a ventilator?

These conversations can happen at home, during a visit with your Grand Rapids primary care provider, or while completing legal documents with a lawyer.

Advance Care Directives in Michigan

An advance care directive (often combined with a Patient Advocate Designation) is a legal document where you can:

  • Name your medical decision maker (patient advocate)
  • Give specific instructions about treatments you do or do not want
  • Describe your values, beliefs, and general medical preferences

What an Advance Care Directive Can Do

An advance care directive can:

  • State your wishes about life support, resuscitation (CPR), feeding tubes, and other treatments
  • Explain where you would prefer to receive care (for example, at home in Grand Rapids, in a hospital, or in hospice)
  • Guide your medical team at Spectrum Health, Trinity Health, Metro Health, or Mercy Health when you cannot speak for yourself

If your directive contains clear, valid instructions consenting to or refusing certain treatments, your medical team and your decision maker are generally required to follow these instructions.

This gives your medical decision maker confidence that they are honoring your choices, not just guessing.

How to Be Someone Else’s Medical Decision Maker

If you are asked to be a medical treatment decision maker for a family member or friend in Grand Rapids:

  • Base decisions on their wishes, not yours.
    Think about what they have said before about illness, hospitals, and end‑of‑life care.

  • Use past conversations.
    Recall discussions you’ve had after a family member’s illness, a news story about life support, or visits to local hospitals.

  • Ask their doctors questions.
    Ask the care team to explain the diagnosis, options, risks, and likely outcomes in plain language.

  • Consider quality of life.
    Would they accept a treatment if it meant long‑term disability, memory loss, or living in a nursing facility?

  • Review any documents.
    Look at their Patient Advocate Designation or advance directive if available.

Your role is to make the best possible decision they would have made for themselves, given the information available.

Local Grand Rapids & Michigan Resources

If you live in Grand Rapids or Kent County and want help with advance care planning or naming a medical decision maker, you can reach out to:

  • Your Grand Rapids primary care doctor or clinic

    • Spectrum Health Medical Group
    • Trinity Health Grand Rapids primary care clinics
    • Metro Health and Mercy Health outpatient clinics

  • Kent County Health Department

    • Offers public health information and may direct you to local resources for advance care planning and senior services.

  • Grand Rapids Public Health / City of Grand Rapids resources

    • Community health programs, senior services, and caregiver support.

  • Michigan Legal Aid & local legal services

    • Help with Patient Advocate Designations, powers of attorney, and advance directives.
    • Some services are low‑cost or free for qualifying residents.

  • Hospitals in Grand Rapids

    • Many have social workers, case managers, and palliative care teams who can help you complete advance directives and understand your options.

Key Points

  • In a medical emergency, the medical team can make urgent treatment decisions to save your life.
  • In non‑emergency situations, if you cannot decide, a medical decision maker (patient advocate) will be asked to choose on your behalf.
  • You can formally appoint a close friend or family member as your medical decision maker through a Patient Advocate Designation or healthcare power of attorney.
  • If you do not appoint someone, Michigan law uses a typical order of relatives (such as spouse, adult child, parent) to identify who will decide.
  • An advance care directive can record your specific wishes and your values so your decision maker and medical team in Grand Rapids can follow your preferences.
  • Talking early and openly about medical wishes helps ensure that, if the time comes, your care reflects what you would truly want.