PSA for MIA parents

Imagine this. You finally get a vacation. With your spouse. Away from the kids. Hooray for Grandma and Grandpa! You hope they have everything they need, but really all you can think about is that king bed next to the window overlooking the beach. And sunshine. And quiet. You promise you'll check in every night...maybe.

Now imagine this. While you're gone, your slightly clumsy 4-year-old walks straight into a door, splits her head open, and gets taken to the wonderful pediatric urgent care down the road. Only they can't treat her. Because you are unreachable (darn cell reception on the beach), it's not a life-threatening emergency, and you forgot to give power of medical decision making to Grandma and Grandpa. Whoops.

This actually happened to me last week (well, I wasn't the one on vacation, obvi. I was the treating doctor). Mom and Dad were on a plane over the Atlantic and Grandma had one traumatized little girl and her restless older brother with no way to consent for medical care. Thankfully the plane landed and we got phone consent in time to get the patient the stitches she needed and home to bed, but there's an easier way.

If you are going to be out of town, unreachable, or leaving your kids in someone else's care for a prolonged period of time (in my mind, that's a couple of hours, given that you never know what kids will do), it's a good idea to give the caregivers medical power of attorney (MPOA) for your kids. Every state is different, but from what I know, here's the basics.

1. The MPOA does not ever supersede your rights as a parent, nor does it allow the temporary guardian the ability to let your child be adopted or get married (I know, we were all worried Grandma might go a little crazy, right?)
2. The MPOA is good for up to a year and allows a designated guardian the ability to make medical decisions for your children.
3. An MPOA is not necessary for emergency treatment. This qualifies as life- or limb-saving measures that any reasonable person would agree to for their children. This does not apply to cosmetic or non-emergent issues, even including facial stitches or broken bones (which can be set a few days later with good outcome).
4. The MPOA should be a signed document designating specific (named) people to care for your (named) children (include date of birth) during a specific period of time and should be signed and dated by the parent.
5. Our hospital (as far as I know) does not require a notarized form, and Kaiser's form says notary is optional, but for water-tight agreements, notary is preferred. Here is an example of the form for Colorado. Every state may have their own requirements.

So, next time you flee the madness of your offspring for sandy beaches (or if you know someone planning to do so), make sure an MPOA gets filled out so that we can take better care of all those kiddos.