• Newly Baptized Publishers 1

• Parents and Pregnant Sisters 2

• Elderly 3

• Admission to the Hospital 4

• Communication With Medical Personnel 5

• Hospital Liaison Committee 6-9

• When Traveling to Care for Medical Needs 10-15

• Baptism of an Individual With a Communicable Disease 16-17

1. The secretary should provide newly baptized publishers with the following materials:

1. (1) Durable power of attorney (DPA) card. The publisher should be informed of the importance of having a properly completed DPA card and of providing a copy of it to (1) his health-care agents, (2) his doctor or hospital, and (3) the congregation secretary.

2. (2) “How Do I View Blood Fractions and Medical Procedures Involving My Own Blood?” (kmi11/06)​—November 2006 Our Kingdom Ministry insert.

3. (3) “Are You Ready to Face a Faith-Challenging Medical Situation?” (kmi11/90)​—November 1990 Our Kingdom Ministry insert.

2. When the elders learn that a sister is pregnant, they should inquire whether she has located a cooperative doctor and medical facility that have experience in bloodless medicine. Elders should ensure that such sisters and any parents with minor children are familiar with the points contained in the article “Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies,” in the November 2009 issue of Awake! pages 26-29, and in the document How Parents Can Protect Their Children From Misuse of Blood (S-55).

3. If they do not have Witness family members with them in a hospital, older brothers and sisters may be particularly vulnerable to intimidation by medical personnel. Elders would do well to encourage such ones to have a duly-completed DPA card and remind them to confirm periodically that their designated health-care agents understand their decisions and will uphold them.

4. When the elders learn that a publisher is being admitted to the hospital, the publisher should be reminded that if he wishes to receive visits from congregation elders, including members of the Patient Visitation Group, he should inform the hospital that he would welcome a visit from a minister of Jehovah’s Witnesses. A publisher needs to read hospital forms very carefully to ensure that his health-care decisions are properly recorded. A patient has the right to modify such documents as necessary, initialing each adjustment he makes. A publisher will want to ensure that a copy of his DPA card is included with his medical records. To help ensure that his wishes are honored, a publisher may choose to appoint two of Jehovah’s Witnesses as his health-care agents instead of non-Witness family members. If this is done, it is both prudent and a kindness for the publisher to advise his non-Witness family members of this.

5. Well in advance of a scheduled operation, a publisher should speak with his doctor, the surgeon, and the anesthesiologist about his health-care instructions. Surgery is a team effort, and all members of the team need to understand the publisher’s position on blood, on any pharmaceuticals containing minor blood fractions, and on medical procedures involving the use of his own blood. It is unfair to the medical team when a publisher fails to communicate his wishes well in advance of the surgery. With the publisher’s permission, Hospital Liaison Committee members or others may discuss the publisher’s case with medical personnel. However, it is the responsibility of the patient or his health-care agents to make health-care decisions.

6. Hospital Liaison Committees (HLC) play a vital role in helping medical and legal communities understand our religious position regarding blood transfusions. HLCs coordinate the activities of Patient Visitation Groups (PVG) in key cities to provide spiritual support for hospitalized Witness patients from outside the local area. The HLC and PVG arrangements do not relieve the elders or others in the congregation of their responsibility to support publishers who are hospitalized.​—Prov. 17:17; 1 John 3:18.

7. The activity of HLCs is completely separate from hospital programs, such as bloodless medicine and surgery programs. Neither the branch office nor the HLCs endorse health-care providers or any business organization.

8. Elders should ensure that they have ready access to the contact information for their HLC. In most cases, elders should contact the HLC directly and only in behalf of baptized and unbaptized publishers (including inactive publishers) who request help to find a cooperative doctor (either for themselves or for their children) or whose medical condition has led to the threat of a blood transfusion. At times, the elders may determine that it would be best for the patient or a family member to contact the HLC directly, especially in emergency situations. When calling the HLC, the caller should have the following information available:

1. (1) Name, age, congregation, and telephone number of patient.

2. (2) Spiritual standing of patient and family, and whether unbelieving family members are involved.

3. (3) Name of hospital, name of doctor, patient’s room number and, if applicable, telephone number of patient’s room.

4. (4) Whether a completed DPA card is available. (If not, the patient should be encouraged to fill one out immediately. Unbaptized publishers may adapt the language of the DPA card and Identity Card [ic] to write health-care instructions for themselves and their children.)

5. (5) Reason for calling the HLC.

9. If a publisher has a doctor who says he will respect the publisher’s wishes, there may not be a need to contact the HLC before treatment. However, the publisher will want to confirm that the doctor is experienced in using nonblood medical alternatives and strategies.

10. At times, a publisher requires specialized medical care that is unavailable locally. The Special Medical Needs Room Request (hlc-20) form allows Witness patients and family to request assistance with lodging during their stay. There is no obligation for patients to use this provision, especially when financial circumstances allow the patient to cover his needs. If the patient simply wants information on what accommodation options are available locally, he should indicate that he is able to cover such expenses and the Hospital Liaison Committee (HLC) can then provide such information.

11. For patients needing assistance in nonemergency situations, the elders should obtain the form from their local HLC and then assist the publisher or his family to fill it out. The elders will promptly send the completed form to the HLC in the city where the patient will receive care. In emergency situations, the elders may ask their local HLC to expedite such rooming requests.

12. Families should limit the size of the group traveling with the patient. The HLC in the city where the patient will receive care will use the completed form to locate lodging for the group. Accommodations may be arranged in the following ways:

1. (1) Standing agreements that hospitals have negotiated with nearby hotels or private residential facilities for discounted rates. Such arrangements are usually available to anyone, including non-Witnesses.

2. (2) Discounted rooms for Witnesses at hotels used in connection with circuit assemblies and conventions, if available.

3. (3) Private homes of Witness families living near the medical facility. If accommodations are required for an extended period of time, the homes of multiple families may be used on a rotational basis so as not to impose a burden on any one family.

13. If a non-Witness relative or a disfellowshipped family member is accompanying the Witness patient, no special arrangements or rates would be extended beyond accommodations for the patient and immediate family members who are in good standing.

14. The patient and his family have the primary obligation to care for the cost incurred for lodging, transportation, meals, and other related expenses. However, the patient’s congregation may also be able to offer assistance in certain cases.​—od pp. 119-120 pars. 12-15; 153-154 pars. 9-11.

15. If a congregation is near a medical facility where Witness patients from other areas often seek medical care, elders may communicate to the local HLC chairman information about exemplary publishers who can provide suitable accommodations to visiting Witnesses.

16. Out of loving concern for others, a baptism candidate may inform the elders that he has a communicable disease, such as HIV/​AIDS, hepatitis, and so forth. (od pp. 186-187) If so, the coordinator of the body of elders should inform the candidate of the following options regarding immersion:

1. (1) He may attend the convention or assembly, listen to the baptism talk, and then be taken to a stream, river, lake, or sea to be baptized.

2. (2) He may attend the convention or assembly, listen to the baptism talk, and then be baptized in his hotel room or in a private home where there is a large tub that can be used for this purpose.

3. (3) If he is sensitive to others becoming aware of the fact that he has such a disease and does not want it to become known to others, he may attend a convention or assembly to which his congregation is not assigned, listen to the baptism talk, and then be baptized in a stream, river, lake, or sea.

4. (4) He may request that the local elders arrange for a private baptism.

17. The brothers performing the baptism should be informed of the health issue so as to decide whether this would be a risk that they would be willing to take.