[Remembergoldenrule]

Also register it with all the hospitals in the area along with urgent cares and emergency rooms so on file.

[elevatorman]

Every state has a different form.

[maggie1]

Originally Posted by jojoturf

Just experienced this in NY State. DNR has to be on bright pink paper signed by palliative care or other authority. EMT checked that document immediately upon entering the house. The DNR paragraph in his Living Will meant nothing. Sorry for this persons loss.

This is crazy! Pink paper, yellow paper, white paper, and I imagine other states have a different color paper they would accept. If a person goes toes up in a state requiring a certain color of paper for a DNRO to be honored, and the party has a DNRO, but not in the correct color, the person could linger in the hospital for days before the end. Why in the world would there not be a standard form that would be honored by all states? This isn't a difficult problem to solve if only the states would use common sense, but I know common sense is not a strong point in government.

[Indydealmaker]

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.

Thanks for this info. Also begs the question as to why there was a useless copy in the first place.

[Bill14564]

Originally Posted by Indydealmaker

Thanks for this info. Also begs the question as to why there was a useless copy in the first place.

As far as I can tell, in MD there is a form that can be filled out online and used. I believe it must be signed by a physician but I haven't looked into it that closely. However, if I had filled out that form in MD I would have moved it with me down here to Florida expecting it would be honored. Only when it mattered would I have discovered it was a useless copy.

[FredJacobs]

There is a difference between a DNRO and a DNR -

What is a DNRO? How is it different from a DNR, advance directive, or POLST?

A Do Not Resuscitate Order (DNRO) (form DH 1896) is a one-page, easily-identifiable form
developed by the Florida Department of Health pursuant to section 401.45, Florida Statutes,
and adopted by rule. The DNRO is only intended to identify a patient whose health care
provider has directed paramedics and emergency medical technicians (EMTs) not to
resuscitate the patient in the event of respiratory or cardiac arrest.

The DNRO is different from Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) directions, advance directives, and
Physician Orders for Life Sustaining Treatment (POLST). A DNR, advance directive, or
POLST is any written direction from a health care provider to all other providers who treat
the patient. A DNR, advance directive, or POLST often includes a combination of directions
for when to administer or withhold treatments and procedures for end-of-life, chronic, and
terminal illness care. Hospital, facility, and hospice personnel may review the DNR, advance
directive, or POLST together with the patient’s other medical records to provide appropriate
care.

The DNRO is a specific, limited direction to paramedics and EMTs only. Paramedics and
EMTs are not required to review and interpret any other type of DNR, advance directive, or
POLST document. A DNRO and any copies of the DNRO must be printed with a full-page
yellow background or be printed on yellow paper, or they will not be valid. Any shade of
yellow is acceptable.

[scubawva]

“Also register it with all the hospitals in the area along with urgent cares and emergency rooms so on file.”

Must be with the patient. Original.

[HappyTraveler]

Originally Posted by maggie1

This is crazy! Pink paper, yellow paper, white paper, and I imagine other states have a different color paper they would accept. If a person goes toes up in a state requiring a certain color of paper for a DNRO to be honored, and the party has a DNRO, but not in the correct color, the person could linger in the hospital for days before the end. Why in the world would there not be a standard form that would be honored by all states? This isn't a difficult problem to solve if only the states would use common sense, but I know common sense is not a strong point in government.

I don't specifically know what the point of the colored paper is. Obviously, there have been issues (forgeries?) that they are attempting to mitigate using colored paper.

This isn't a difficult problem to solve if only the states would use common sense,

It inherently IS a difficult issue but, it's not the states that are lacking, it's THE FAMILIES. Often times, relationships are not good or communication is poor, some members don't understand the issues, some don't want to understand them, some have particular motivations, etc. The families are where the difficulty is.

Frankly, people being so ultra-focused on the DNR and DRNO are missing the larger and more important instructions. Let me use the state of NC as an example....they call it: an Advanced Directive or Living Will (because it covers several health situations, not just DNR).That is where my mother lived for decades. She filled out a Living Will in 1994. Unfortunately, neither she nor my brother, who was her POA, sought to update it all those decades since. Hers was one page, but when she got very sick in 2021 and we scrambled to do an update, it had become four pages and rightfully so. The state of NC realized that there is much more nuance to these situations so, greater specificity was needed.

Here is the link to the most current (I think) version of it and it's well worth your time to scan it, then you'll understand the breadth of it beyond just DNR. Also, I direct you to the text on bottom of page 3/top of page 4. Notice how they want the witness to be someone in no way related to, medically-treating or a beneficiary of the estate. So, in NC, they don't want your Doctor, any employee of theirs or of a facility where you might be living to be signing it. Obviously, all of that is there because there have been problems in the past. https://www.sosnc.gov/webfiles/docum...ural_death.pdf

The reasons it's important to update these Directives/Living Wills every ten years or so, is:
a) I imagine you might answer the questions differently when you're 65 and in good health versus when you're 85 or 90 and maybe not in great health. I know I would. Sure, save me when I'm still fairly young and can recover from whatever health issue and go on to live a nice life. No, I don't want to be saved when I'm very aged, in declining health and especially if I would become wheelchair-bound upon recovery when elderly (life becomes prison-like).
b) The forms change....as I described with my mothers situation in NC. Older ones might still be honored but, it's better to be fairly up-to-date to avoid any problems.

[LarryL]

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.

Why would the Florida make such an assinine rule? Who benefits from it? That said - Thanks for the heads up.

[thelegges]

There is a simple solution. Your spouse doesn’t want to be resuscitated. Once no pulse is detected, sit with your loved one, honor their wishes. Retrieving any paperwork, no matter the state.

Then call 911, it can be hard to not honor wishes but it’s still the choice of the person still breathing, not the one who can no longer respond.

[HappyTraveler]

Originally Posted by thelegges

There is a simple solution. Your spouse doesn’t want to be resuscitated. Once no pulse is detected, sit with your loved one, honor their wishes. Retrieving any paperwork, no matter the state.

Then call 911, it can be hard to not honor wishes but it’s still the choice of the person still breathing, not the one who can no longer respond.

Almost never are these situations simple. That's one of the primary problems -- people think they are! They seem to be expecting a situation of absoluteness to be before them and that everyone in the family is clear about it. Most of the time, it is NO and NO.

I offer more detail in Post #23. I have more to share but, haven't decided if it's worth the time to write it because I'm not sure whether readers actually value it.

[thelegges]

Originally Posted by HappyTraveler

Almost never are these situations simple. That's one of the primary problems -- people think they are! They seem to be expecting a situation of absoluteness to be before them and that everyone in the family is clear about it. Most of the time, it is NO and NO.

I offer more detail in Post #23. I have more to share but, haven't decided if it's worth the time to write it because I'm not sure whether readers actually value it.

Both my spouse and I 45 years in the OR, plus working COVID, which brought more death count in a week, than most families see in their entire lifetime. For Both my parents we waited 30 minutes before making the call. Father in law about 40 minutes.

Best friend, started CPR immediately, continuing for 21 minutes, until rescue arrived. Conversion was never going to happen but continued anyway.

It may be hard to understand, but emotions don’t come into play when it’s your medical profession. Not for strangers or family. We also know when to sit and wait, or start counting.

Doesn’t mean hours or days later emotions doesn’t surface, but loosing it in front of colleagues or family when their is a job to do can never comes into play.

While hard to make plans for your child’s death, there is a game plan and will never deviate.

[blueash]

Originally Posted by MandoMan

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.

There clearly are situations where the person has not suffered an arrest but perhaps is having difficulty breathing or chest pain. It is perfectly correct to call 911 in this situation as intervention before arrest is warranted even if there is a DNR.
So EMT's get called and before or shortly after their arrival, the person arrests. The immediate call for help as right, and the request to not resuscitate once absence of a heartbeat is established is also right.

[RoseyRed]

Totally agree! it is different for everyone due to individual situations.

[RoseyRed]

Originally Posted by maggie1

This is crazy! Pink paper, yellow paper, white paper, and I imagine other states have a different color paper they would accept. If a person goes toes up in a state requiring a certain color of paper for a DNRO to be honored, and the party has a DNRO, but not in the correct color, the person could linger in the hospital for days before the end. Why in the world would there not be a standard form that would be honored by all states? This isn't a difficult problem to solve if only the states would use common sense, but I know common sense is not a strong point in government.