Do Not Resuscitate Form

Of all the health care paperwork that comes our way, nothing is more controversial (and misunderstood) than the Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) form, also known as the “orange sheet”.  This sheet is labeled as a “Prehospital Medical Care Directive,” which means you are giving your instructions for care that happens before you are in the hospital.

The DNR form is an instruction to emergency medical technicians (EMTs) that, should they arrive to find you in cardiac arrest (your heart has stopped, and you are not breathing), you would not want to be resuscitated with CPR, or according to the form itself, “EMTs and other emergency personnel will not use equipment, drugs, or devices to restart your heart or breathing, but they will not withhold medical interventions that are necessary to provide comfort care or to alleviate pain.”  This means you are declining CPR and other related procedures designed to re-start the heart once stopped or breathing once it ends. In layman's terms, the orange sheet says “if you find me on the floor and my heart is stopped, please let me go and do not try to revive me.”

Popular medical TV dramas can leave us thinking that a few quick pumps on the chest is all we need to spring back into action, as good as new and ready to go. In fact, studies of CPR results are somewhat mixed depending on a variety of factors, but in general, physical trauma to the body, especially in older adults, is to be expected. This might include broken ribs, lung bruising, and internal bleeding. Permanent damage to the brain depends on how long you were without oxygen before being resuscitated. Although statistics differ depending on the study, people in their 80s and 90s generally have a less than 10 percent chance of surviving post-hospital after CPR.

Whether or not to complete a DNR form is a highly personal decision, based on individual values, health, and other factors, of which age is only one. A conversation with your doctor or other licensed health care provider is a good place to share your questions, as they will need to sign the form (as will one witness not related to you) and attest that they have explained the risks of completing this document. If you do complete this document, please let me know so we can make sure it is noted in our system here on campus.

Author Info: Beatitudes Campus

At the foundation of beatitudes Campus is the vision of Church of the Beatitudes pastors and congregation members to create a better alternative for older adults than the nursing homes of the early 1960s. The type of community they imagined was the first of its kind in Arizona. beatitudes campus is proud to continue the legacy of our founders, by being a leader in the field of aging services for over 50 years.