BROOKINGS — National Healthcare Decisions Day was April 15, and SDSU Extension is encouraging family farm owners to make long-term caregiving decisions.

“National Healthcare Decisions Day is a day to commemorate the importance of advance care planning,” said Leacey Brown, South Dakota State University Extension gerontology field specialist. “Adults of all ages need to discuss advance care planning with their family or friends and complete advance directives.”

These discussions and decisions can be overwhelming, Brown said. To help people understand what to do and how to do it, Brown and Theresa Garren-Grubbs, a clinical assistant professor at the SDSU College of Nursing, have created free educational resources at the SDSU Extension Family Caregiving page.

“You might handle deciding what type of long-term care to buy for a loved one. What do you know about these services? Do you know how your family plans to pay for them?” said Brown.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported that there were 28,300 farm operations in South Dakota. As family farm owners age, they tend to focus on estate planning. Caregiving can get overlooked, having serious legal, financial and emotional implications for families and businesses.

In some cases, families are forced to sell off farm assets to pay caregiving expenses. Brown said before estate planning, families need to talk about health decisions and who will oversee health care if a family member becomes ill or incapacitated.

Advance directives are often for crisis or emergency situations, but they should be created in advance. The earlier families start talking about caregiving the better prepared they will be, especially in situations like a traumatic brain injury, dementia or an accident that leaves people incapacitated.

To learn more, visit the Caregiving for Rural Families page or contact Brown at 605-394-1722 or leacey.brown@ sdstate.edu, or Garren-Grubbs at 605-688-6845 or theresa.garrengrubs@sdstate.edu.