Know Your Ohio Health Care Directives

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The 3 Ohio Health Care Documents You Need To Know

health care-dnr living will

When it comes to health care directives in the state of Ohio, there are a few different documents that sometimes work together and sometimes supersede the others. It is important to be aware of these documents and understand the distinctions between them. In Ohio, the documents to be familiar with are as follow:

  1. Durable power of attorney for health care;
  2. Living will; and
  3. A do not resuscitate order (DNR).

DURABLE POA FOR HEALTH CARE

A durable power of attorney  for health care  authorizes another individual as your attorney in fact to make health care decisions for you at any time that you are not able to make informed health care decisions for yourself.  They are to make decisions consistent with those wishes previously made by you and known to them. In a durable power of attorney for health care, you can grant them permission to consent to the issuance of a DNR order by your physician, precluding cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR).

LIVING WILL

A health care power of attorney is superceded by a living will  which is your own written declaration that you do not want life … Read More... “Know Your Ohio Health Care Directives”

Would My Ohio Living Will Block My Being Placed on a Ventilator if I Contracted Coronavirus (COVID-19)?

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What Does a DNR Order in Ohio mean?

A DNR Order (Do not resuscitate Order) Cannot Be Executed Unless Signed By A Physician

dnr order permanently unconscious coronavirusI received a telephone call a week or so ago from a client who was concerned that, based upon some things that he had recently heard, he may have executed some estate planning documents that would prevent him from being put on a ventilator if he contracted the coronavirus. I am sure that he is not the only one who has had that concern, so I believe that this is a good time to explain this issue in greater detail.

First, here in Ohio a DNR Order (Do not resuscitate order) form states that health care providers will not perform CPR (cardio pulmonary resuscitation), will not administer resuscitation medications with the intent of restarting the heart or breathing, will not insert an airway adjunct, will not de-fibrillate, cardiovert or initiate pacing and will not initiate continuous cardiac monitoring.

A DNR Order  may be DNR Comfort Care (effective immediately) or DNR Comfort Care-Arrest (effective upon cardiac or respiratory arrest). A DNR Order must be signed and issued by a physician. This is where much confusion comes … Read More... “Would My Ohio Living Will Block My Being Placed on a Ventilator if I Contracted Coronavirus (COVID-19)?”