New York State Rescinds Blanket Do Not Resuscitate Order for Cardiac Patients During Coronavirus Outbreak
Hours after the New York Post reported the DNR, the state Health Commissioner pulled back the order.
Yesterday the state of New York rescinded a do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order for cardiac patients without a pulse, Fox News reported Wednesday. According to a report, first responders were ordered last week not to revive those patients during the coronavirus outbreak, citing increased call volumes and lack of resources.
First responders were previously allowed to try to resuscitate cardiac patients for up to 20 minutes, according to the New York Post. Within hours after that article was published, the state health department rescinded the DNR order. The state department’s spokesperson, Jill Montag, said that while the guidance was issued at the recommendation of the Bureau of Emergency Medical Services, it doesn’t “reflect New York’s standards.” For that reason, the Department of Health Commissioner Dr. Howard Zucker ordered them to be rescinded.
No Second Chance to Live
The state Department of Health sent out a memo last week stating that the order is “necessary during the COVID-19 response to protect the health and safety of EMS providers by limiting their exposure, conserve resources, and ensure optimal use of equipment to save the greatest number of lives.”
Last month the Regional Emergency Medical Services Council of New York gave a similar directive to paramedics. The Regional Emergency Medical Services Council oversees New York City’s ambulance services. The directive told paramedics not to bring cardiac patients without a pulse to the hospital, because the hospitals were overwhelmed with COVID-19 patients. Until the most recent order, paramedics could still work on cardiac patients for 20 minutes at the scene.
“They’re not giving people a second chance to live anymore,” said Oren Barzilay. Barzilay is the president of Local 2507, Uniformed EMTs, Paramedics & Fire Inspectors Union. He told The Post that “our job is to bring patients back to life. This guideline takes that away from us.”
The Washington Post reported last month that health care professionals were considering issuing a blanket do-not-resuscitate order for COVID-19 patients. Although some doctors have issued DNR orders for some COVID-19 patients without the family’s approval, it was on a case by case basis. The ethics professionals in the medical community felt that a blanket DNR was “too draconian.”
CALL TO ACTION:
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Nancy Flory is an associate editor at The Stream. You can follow her @NancyFlory3, and follow The Stream @Streamdotorg.
