Understanding paramedics' protocols

Maplewood police are investigating six emergency responders after a call last week raised issues of families, treatment and "do not resuscitate" orders.

On Aug. 14, Maplewood medics were called to the Good Samaritan Society nursing home to help a 71-year-old woman who had stopped breathing, but had a pulse.

The first responders — paramedics and emergency medical technicians — were about to transport the woman to a hospital when her husband arrived. He asked them not to move his wife, or to continue resuscitation efforts.

The medics heeded the husband's request, and the woman died 20 minutes later. While the woman's husband said she would not have wanted to be resuscitated, she had never signed an official order saying so.

To offer a deeper understanding of how paramedics are trained to deal with such situations, MPR News host Cathy Wurzer spoke with Mike Trullinger, a supervisor at Hennepin County Emergency Medical Services.

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