This is not a joke. Recently, in California, an elderly resident died because the independent living facility has rules that forbids any of the employees to give CPR until emergency responders arrive. What????
This terrible situation created a lot of ruckus for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) and soon Memorandum 14-01-NH was released.
Even though the memorandum made it clear that nursing homes should use CPR when necessary, the independent living centers are governed by state law, not CMS.
It seems that the state of Wisconsin is the only state to actually revise their CPR policies. No word from California. Before selecting an independent living facility for yourself or a loved one, you might want to investigate their CPR policy. And write your congressman or senator about changing these regulations!
