Jail staff can ignore do-not-resuscitate orders

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — Attorney General Brad Schimel says jail staff don’t have to follow inmates’ do-not-resuscitate orders.

Sauk County attorneys asked Schimel for a legal opinion on the question after an inmate arrived at the county jail in September 2017 wearing a do-not-resuscitate bracelet.

Schimel issued the opinion on Thursday. He said that, under state law, only emergency-medical technicians, emergency-medical responders, emergency-room staff and urgent-care clinic staff are required to abide by do-not-resuscitate orders. Such orders bind only jail workers who fall within those categories.

Schimel noted that a state Department of Health Services administrative rule that requires first responders to follow do-not-resuscitate orders conflicts with statutes and is unenforceable.