CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC)- Can workers at senior living centers in South Carolina give CPR to residents? The question has surfaced after a California woman died when CPR was withheld.
It was later revealed that was the facility's policy, and on Tuesday police said the nurse who refused to perform CPR will not face criminal charges.
As a result, Bishop Gadsden Vice President and COO Sarah Tipton said she has fielded many questions from residents living at the Charleston retirement community.
"Before I had heard about this incident, a group of residents stopped me in the café and asked if our nurses would give CPR," said Tipton. "I reassured them, of course."
The executive director for the South Carolina Assisted Living Federation of America, Lara Williams, said on Tuesday every retirement community in the state has to have some agreement with residents about CPR.
But Williams said policies may vary among facilities and it is important to ask about CPR protocol.
According to Tipton, workers at Bishop Gadsden can give residents CPR unless that resident has signed a "Do Not Resuscitate" form. That information can be accessed quickly on a laptop in an emergency situation.
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