In a hospital, Do Not Resuscitate means staff aren’t supposed to give CPR if a patient’s breathing or heart stops. It’s an order doctors put into a patient’s chart at the request of the patient.
But these DNR orders can result in unintended consequences — like the withholding of treatment before death. As Lisa Gillespie (@LVGillespie) from WFPL in Louisville reports, the misunderstanding is common in hospitals, both in Kentucky and around the country.
Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.