© 2026 Aspen Public Radio
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
We are conducting updates to our transmitter on Sunlight Mountain this afternoon. Intermittent signal outages may occur on 88.9 in Carbondale.

How 'Do Not Resuscitate' Is Open To Interpretation In Some Hospitals

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.