This is why I shouldn't watch the news (especially just before bed) EDIT TO ADD

[LDavis33]

So many of you have questioned whether or not this lady had a DNR.  I'm not sure of the answer, it wasn't in any of the articles that I read.  However I question why, if there was a DNR, the nurse who made the 911 call didn't make that clear to the dispatcher.  I understand HIPAA prevents disclosing personal health information, but I would think (and perhaps someone can help me out here) that the dispatcher should have access to that information as it pertains to the woman's healthcare and the first responders should have been made aware of this.   

I heard this story on the news last night and heard the 911 call.  It made me cry.  I kept thinking about my grandmother, who also lives in an assisted living facility and it kept me up half the night.  I get that there are rules and regulations set out to protect the staff and the residents, but seriously?  The staff member was asked by the 911 dispatcher to hand the phone to another resident or a visitor so that she could instruct them on how to perform CPR and the staff member refused to even do that.  

Nurse refuses to perform CPR despite 911 dispatcher's plea

An elderly woman being cared for at a California retirement facility died following the refusal of a nurse at the facility to perform CPR on the woman after she collapsed, authorities said.

When Lorraine Bayless, an 87-year-old resident of Glenwood Gardens, Bakersfield, collapsed at the facility around 11 a.m. Tuesday, a staff member called 911 but refused to give the woman CPR, according to a recording of the call.

In refusing the 911 dispatcher's insistence that she perform CPR, the nurse can be heard telling the dispatcher that it was against the retirement facility's policy to perform CPR.

During the exchange between the nurse and the dispatcher, the dispatcher can be heard saying "I don't understand why you're not willing to help this patient.''

An ambulance arrived several minutes after the call and took Bayless to a hospital, where she was later pronounced dead. She has been identified as a resident of the home's independent facility, which is separate from the skilled and assisted nursing facility.

The retirement facility released a statement extending its condolences to the family and said its "practice is to immediately call emergency medical personnel for assistance and to wait with the individual needing attention until such personnel arrives.''

The statement also said a "thorough internal review of the matter'' would be conducted.

A call to the facility by The Associated Press seeking more information on the incident was not immediately returned.

Bayless' daughter told a reporter for KGET, the NBC affiliate in Bakersfield, that she was also a nurse and was satisfied with the care her mother received.

[Veni.Vidi.Vici.]

Quoting LDavis33:

Would it be against HIPAA if there were a universal DNR that all residents signed upon moving in?  Just curious.  And, if a personal DNR were in place, why would they call 911?  If she didn't wish to be resuscitated, why call for help? 

I'm just throwing this out there.  I don't know the whole story, and obviously her daughter was happy with the care she received, so nothing more will come of this.  Just listening to the frustration in the 911 operators voice was enough to bother me.

Quoting Veni.Vidi.Vici.:

Quoting LDavis33:

I did think about that, but I would imagine that if that were the case and the resident(s) had a DNR, the nurse who called 911 would have explained that to the 911 operator, instead of simply saying that she is not permitted to perform CPR.  

Quoting stormcris:

A facility like this can have entire facility DNRs. The people who place their relatives in such are normally made well aware of such and those are the wishes of the family. 

telling anyone about a DNR is against HIPAA

Everyone who cared for the woman may have knowledge of the DNR but they can't share it with anyone except medical professionals that care for her. The 911 call puzzles me, unless that is also a policy of the home.

[JCB911]

It said she collapsed - she could have broken her hip - that'd get a 911 call.

My Gma was in a nursing home, DNR as well.  She went to the hospital many times - breathing treatments for COPD, broken hip and pnuemonia treatment.

Quoting LDavis33:

Would it be against HIPAA if there were a universal DNR that all residents signed upon moving in?  Just curious.  And, if a personal DNR were in place, why would they call 911?  If she didn't wish to be resuscitated, why call for help? 

I'm just throwing this out there.  I don't know the whole story, and obviously her daughter was happy with the care she received, so nothing more will come of this.  Just listening to the frustration in the 911 operators voice was enough to bother me.

Quoting Veni.Vidi.Vici.:

Quoting LDavis33:

I did think about that, but I would imagine that if that were the case and the resident(s) had a DNR, the nurse who called 911 would have explained that to the 911 operator, instead of simply saying that she is not permitted to perform CPR.  

Quoting stormcris:

A facility like this can have entire facility DNRs. The people who place their relatives in such are normally made well aware of such and those are the wishes of the family. 

telling anyone about a DNR is against HIPAA

[LDavis33]

Yep, I know I've got to stop watching the news, especially before bed.  I do get that they tend to sensationalize things and twist the stories to make them more interesting, but hearing the 911 call was what did it for me.  The frustration in the 911 operators voice really got to me.

I wish I could visit my Grandmother, but unfortunately she lives in another province, and with two little ones travel is next to impossible.  I do send letters, pictures and little gifts whenever I can though.

Quoting JCB911:

But perhaps she did and the news omitted that b/c it makes for a better story . . .  they have done that in the past.

To the OP - yeah, stop watching the news,  they report on all kinds of things that really aren't helpful and will only keep you awake at night.  And if your Gma is in a facility make sure you visit her often, as I'm sure you do.  I lost my Grandma just a few months ago and while I did visit it was depressing to see how empty the place was - even on Christmas, very VERY few people.

Quoting LDavis33:

I did think about that, but I would imagine that if that were the case and the resident(s) had a DNR, the nurse who called 911 would have explained that to the 911 operator, instead of simply saying that she is not permitted to perform CPR.  

Quoting stormcris:

A facility like this can have entire facility DNRs. The people who place their relatives in such are normally made well aware of such and those are the wishes of the family. 

[Euphoric]

 Did dhe have a DNR?

[TruthSeeker.]

 How can a NURSE just stand there and not help?

[Carpy]

Did she have a DNR order on file?

[JCB911]

I'm sure she loves the pictures and letters.  I lived just 10 minutes away so I was there at least weekly, sometimes more.   I practically had to beg my out-of-state cousins to call, and even then only a few would and only once.  It drove me nuts b/c she just thrived on those phones calls - she'd talk about a phone call from my cousin for weeks afterward - it just made her month - literally!

Quoting LDavis33:

Yep, I know I've got to stop watching the news, especially before bed.  I do get that they tend to sensationalize things and twist the stories to make them more interesting, but hearing the 911 call was what did it for me.  The frustration in the 911 operators voice really got to me.

I wish I could visit my Grandmother, but unfortunately she lives in another province, and with two little ones travel is next to impossible.  I do send letters, pictures and little gifts whenever I can though.

Quoting JCB911:

But perhaps she did and the news omitted that b/c it makes for a better story . . .  they have done that in the past.

To the OP - yeah, stop watching the news,  they report on all kinds of things that really aren't helpful and will only keep you awake at night.  And if your Gma is in a facility make sure you visit her often, as I'm sure you do.  I lost my Grandma just a few months ago and while I did visit it was depressing to see how empty the place was - even on Christmas, very VERY few people.

Quoting LDavis33:

I did think about that, but I would imagine that if that were the case and the resident(s) had a DNR, the nurse who called 911 would have explained that to the 911 operator, instead of simply saying that she is not permitted to perform CPR.  

Quoting stormcris:

A facility like this can have entire facility DNRs. The people who place their relatives in such are normally made well aware of such and those are the wishes of the family.