Quote:
Originally Posted by Babber
We just had a sad incident, in our neighborhood, where the wife tried to activate the DNR order in their final papers on her husband. It was a sad situation, that the husband that has been very ill, was discovered not breathing.
The paramedics were called and responded promptly. There was no pulse and apparently not breathing for awhile. The wife presented paperwork of her husbands intention to not resuscitate.
They did not honor the request and did preform CPR and revived temporarily, He later passed in the hospital. The questioned arise of why the DNR order was not honored. The reason was, in Florida, the DNRO must be on yellow paper.
The rule is:
"In Florida, the Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNRO) is a specific form, known as DH Form 1896, that must be on yellow paper to be valid. This form is approved by the Florida Department of Health. It instructs medical providers not to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) on the patient in the event of a cardiac or respiratory arrest. The form needs to be signed by both the patient (or their authorized representative) and the patient's physician. "
Form:
The official Florida DNRO is DH Form 1896, which is printed on yellow legal-size paper (8 ½ x 14 inches).
Availability:
You can obtain the form by downloading it from the Florida Department of Health website. Your attorney, healthcare provider, or an ambulance service may also have copies available.
Requirements:
The form must be signed by both the patient (or their authorized representative) and their physician. It should also be on yellow paper.
This was news to me and I am going through the process of updating my final wish.
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Not questioning your facts, but I had my will drawn up by a local lawyer, including a paper saying I didn’t want to be resuscitated. It wasn’t yellow. I gave a copy to my doctor, who didn’t give me a yellow one. So perhaps I need to get that.
If the intention was that the person not be resuscitated, it’s a shame that the spouse called 911 (I assume) and that paramedics were sent. They are trained to do everything possible to save life, not to stop to discuss DNRs. If the spouse had perhaps maintained a quiet vigil for an hour or two until the person was dead, then made a non-911 call, this could have been avoided.
I myself have a DNR because if my heart stops and I receive defibrillation at home (unlikely as I live at home alone and don’t know who to call in the neighborhood, and the door is locked anyway), my chance of living UNTIL RELEASE FROM THE HOSPITAL is only 10%, and then I’d probably be sent to a rehab hospital, possibly with brain damage, and if I got home there’s a high chance that I’d die within a few months. And I might have very painful broken ribs, too. I don’t like those odds. I’ve had a great life. Just let me go.
“The survival rate after a heart restart varies depending on whether the event occurs inside or outside a hospital. Generally, survival to hospital discharge is around 10% for out-of-hospital cardiac arrests and 21% for in-hospital arrests.”